Lost in the Dark
by xWishfulThinking
Summary: Kayuki Akane has always been standing in the background, watching her classmates as she fades into the dark with no one to help her. But the person to take her hand and pull her back to the light is the last person she expects: Sasuke Uchiha, the perfect pretty boy with secrets of his own. Sasuke/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Naruto: Lost in the Dark  
Mission 1: welcome to hell**

* * *

My name is Kayuki Akane, and I'm twelve years old. I've recently graduated the Ninja Academy and I'm now going to be training to become a real ninja. I'm currently a Genin, the lowest level of ninja.

Well… Yeah, that's really it. There's not much to be interested about me, except for the fact that I'm friends with the class dropout, Naruto Uzumaki. I was sitting with Hinata Hyuuga that fateful day, though. My Konoha headband was around my upper arm and I watched, somewhat amused, as Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, and, soon enough, the rest of the girls of the class soon began to flock over Sasuke Uchiha, the class heartthrob.

I inwardly groaned, but sank down in my seat. "Are you… okay, Kayuki?" Hinata asked. I looked up warily, but nodded. "If you say so."

To be perfectly honest, I just didn't understand what was so great about Sasuke. Sure, he was talented, but he wasn't at all nice. That's when I heard it.

Dead silence.

Looking over to Sasuke and Naruto's table, I saw my two classmates in lip-lock. "Oh…" I managed, sinking down even further as Naruto was completely destroyed by a group of angry fangirls.

But then, Iruka-sensei walked in. His announcement was pretty clear. "All the Genin will be grouped into three-man squads. All the squads will be led by a Jounin, an elite ninja." In my head, I scanned the classroom and counted the students in the seats.

_26, 27, 28. Now, if I'm right, then… one of those teams will have four Genin and a Jounin. Oh…_ All I hoped was that I wasn't going to be the odd person out. Naruto was with Sakura and… Sasuke. Of course. Hinata seemed a little put out, but ended up with Shino Aburame and Kiba Inzuka. I liked those two. They were relatively nice. Ino was pissed off about not being with Sasuke, but she ended up with Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi.

I sighed. Of course, I wasn't with any squad. Now that was just unfair. "Oh… right." Iruka-sensei called, "There's one more student who needs placing. Her scores were better than average, so she won't drag anyone down. Kayuki Akane?" I sat up straighter. "You'll be going with… Hm…" He scanned the room and Hinata grabbed my hand, making me jump a little. "Team 7. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke." I nodded, even though all the girls glared, even Sakura.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Why did he have to be the one with the group of four? Of course. Sasuke groaned, taking a bite out of his lunch. He saw her sitting on a swing by herself. That stupid girl, Kayuki Akane. How she passed Ninja Academy was beyond him. Of course, his thinking was interrupted by Naruto Uzumaki.

"Naruto!" he complained, struggling to untie himself from the idiot's grip. "Let go, you moron!" Naruto smirked down at him as his clones disappeared and he put the tape on Sasuke's mouth. "You dumb idiot!" Sasuke shouted.

Of course, it was muffled. Perfect. It sounded more like _"Fu pumb fidiot!"_ If Naruto couldn't understand regular English, how would he understand the muffled gibberish that Sasuke was making?

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I walked past a large window, looking for somewhere to eat. Yeah, I was kicked off the swings by a group of Sasuke's fangirls. I sighed, then looked at the window. Strange enough, I could see someone in it. I curiously hauled myself into the building and looked around.

Sasuke? What was he doing on the ground? I knelt down and took the tape off of his mouth. "I'm gonna kill Naruto," he snarled. I looked down in shame. It would be Naruto to do this to Sasuke.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly. Sasuke didn't answer. He just left.

I should've figured. I sighed. I was an observer, not an actor. Naruto and Sasuke were more alike then they knew. Sighing, I picked up my lunch and left, eating the riceball on the way back to class, where we would meet our sensei.

Well… our sensei, Kakashi Hatake, wasn't what we'd imagined. First off, he was late. Really late. Everyone else had already gone to go train. Secondly, he fell for Naruto's little eraser trick. I sighed as he walked in the door, and went back to drawing in my notebook.

Picking up the eraser, the silver-haired Jounin stated, "How can I put this? My first impression of you guys… you're all a bunch of idiots." I slunk down in my seat and scribbled down a tiny picture of the Fireball Jutsu. "Hey. You coming?" I looked up to see the rest of my team already out the door.

I flushed a bright red. "Y-yes, sir!" I squeaked, hurrying out after them.

The rooftop was where he took us. "Introduce yourselves, one at a time…" he ordered, sounding bored. Each of us took turns introducing ourselves. Sakura and Naruto both managed to make a fool of themselves.

But Sasuke was interesting. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything." Sakura looked put out. "What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I will restore my clan, and destroy a certain someone."

Kakashi-sensei looked thoughtful. "Next. You."

"U-um… My name's Kayuki Akane. I like observing things, and I don't really hate anything in particular… and my dream for the future… I guess it's to prove to my classmates that I'm not as weak as they think," I stuttered out nervously. My grip on my notebook tightened.

So, Kakashi-sensei said that we'd be doing a survival exercise the next day. So, only three teams would be accepted as Genin. Kakashi-sensei would be the one to decide if we moved on or not. I stood up with the rest of them and went home.

The walk home was lonely. The place I lived had been deserted at least ten years ago. My parents and the rest of my family were dead. My grandmother and I were the only ones left. Slipping in the door, I called, "I'm home… grandmother."

An elderly woman looked up. "Ah, Kayuki. Welcome home. Are you going upstairs?" she asked kindly. I nodded. "Very well. I'll bring dinner up for you."

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Everyone met the next morning. Naruto, Sakura, Kayuki, and Sasuke were all waiting for a few hours waiting for Kakashi-sensei. The task seemed easy enough. There were three bells that Kakashi-sensei had, that the Genin had to grab. But only three would be accepted as Genin.

Sasuke looked at Kayuki, who had made a small, nervous noise. She looked about ready to throw up. "Kakashi-sensei… it's ten now. But, um… you're a Jounin, and we're new Academy Graduates. Do we get a handicap?"

"Nope," Kakashi-sensei deadpanned. "Anyways, feel free to start when I say."

Naruto looked pissed off about what Kakashi-sensei had said.

_Weakest link. Lowest scores. Losers._

The blonde drew his kunai from his belt and began his charge at the Jounin. But in the blink of an eye, he was behind Naruto, holding the kunai to his head. "Don't be in such a hurry," he ordered calmly. "I didn't say start yet." Kakashi-sensei let Naruto go. "You came at me with the full intent of killing me. How do I say this… I think I'm starting to like you guys."

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I watched as all of my teammates went on their separate ways. I sighed and looked at my new sensei. "Kakashi-sensei… Um…"

"What is it?" he demanded, taking out a book.

I hesitated. "Well… Never mind. I'll ask you later." He nodded and I dashed away, and he moved, too. Not after me, though. In the opposite direction, where Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had run off to.

An hour passed by relatively quickly, where I began practicing my skills. This wasn't going to be easy. But Kakashi-sensei had to have some sort of weakness. That's when I heard Naruto's infuriated screams. I looked over into the direction of the screams.

Pocketing my shuriken, I quickly ran over to the direction, stumbling once or twice. I saw Naruto, upside-down, hanging from a tree, and a log with about a dozen kunai and shuriken stuck in it. Quickly catching that Kakashi-sensei was probably watching the surroundings, I hid myself in the trees.

I heard Sakura scream not even five minutes afterwards. Grimacing, I looked to the west, where she was screaming. I bit my lip and looked to the trap. Naruto seemed to be fine, so I left, keeping myself quiet and hidden.

The first thing I noticed was Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke fighting, looking at each other fiercely. Sasuke quickly made the signs for "Horse" and "Tiger." I gaped at the sight. It was near impossible for Genin like us to use those jutsus. Well… I'm one to talk, but the jutsus that I knew were from my family's line. Sasuke, on the other hand, used Fireball Jutsu, which astounded me to no end. He blew fire out from between his two fingers.

What was left was a smoldering pile of dust and rock. Kakashi-sensei had disappeared. A hand reached out from the ground and latched onto Sasuke's leg and pulled him down. I blinked, and then saw that Sasuke's head was the only thing left sticking out of the ground. Stifling a giggle, I prepared one of my mother's jutsus.

"Spider Root Jutsu," I whispered.

**=Hatake Kakashi=**

He heard a brief rustling in the bushes. _Kayuki Akane._ He'd forgotten about her; she was the only one he hadn't attacked yet. He sighed, and turned towards where he heard the movement in the bushes. His visible eye widened as a group of roots shot towards him, seemingly reaching to grab him.

He felt the tree roots wrap around him, and he glanced at them. She had ordered roots that weren't a part of her body to do something that they weren't made to do. Most normal jutsus didn't do that, so did that mean that she already had enough chakra to perform jutsu that most normal Genin didn't know?

Movement from behind him alerted Kakashi to someone sneaking up behind him. No sound was made by Kayuki when she jumped, four kunai in each hand. The new teacher sent a smiling glance at her, then disappeared from the squeezing roots, substituting a large log with his body.

Kakashi hid in the bushes, watching as the young girl faltered a little, her eyes widening in disbelief. She turned in mid-air, aiming the eight kunai all over the open clearing. One landed at his feet, and he smirked a little bit, and then stood and ran through the trees, watching as Kayuki followed him, tossing a few shuriken as she chased him.

Finally, he turned to her. "So, you were taught how to use Ninjutsu already?" She nodded, panting heavily. He walked up to her, slowly, but surely, and she raised a fist in defense. "No need for that. I can see that you've got promise, but there's something that you're missing."

"Wh… what're you talking abou… about?" she asked quietly, out of breath. No reply from Kakashi. "What are we missing?"

He simply smirked. "Well, I have to ask you if you know Taijutsu," he requested. In reply, the blue-haired girl raised her arms, preparing for hand-to-hand combat against her new sensei. "Huh…"

Fists and feet flew as Kayuki jumped at Kakashi, aiming kicks and punches at any part of his body that she could reach. Even so, with one hand, he kept blocking each and every one of her hits, without any problems.

_She has no muscle or any physical strength whatsoever. With her level of strength, it's a wonder that she even can keep herself upright. Despite her chakra level and control clearly being high, I don't think that she'd be good in Taijutsu. Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are more her style, and her stamina levels are even too low for some jutsus._

Thoughts that registered the strength and skill level of Kayuki flew through the Jounin's head as his hand moved to keep up with her hits. He watched her hands closely, but when both of her feet came flying in at him, he almost missed the hand grabbing at the bell. Again, his visible eye widened, and he batted her back. He'd forgotten that she had no strength to resist, and so, she was slammed into the tree behind her, and slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Ow," she complained quietly.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

It was noon, and it was time to get back to the rendezvous point. With all four of us finally defeated, I moved back to the three posts, rubbing my back. Kakashi-sensei could hit hard. I sat on top of one of the posts, my knees tucked against my chest. We had all failed. Sasuke was sitting on the ground, next to the post I was sitting on, with Sakura a few feet away.

And of course, Naruto was the one tied to the post. He'd been punished for trying to steal everyone else's food while Kakashi-sensei was fighting the rest of us. I bit my lip, and looked down at Sasuke, who looked furious with himself.

"Uh oh, stomachs growling. That's too bad," Kakashi-sensei mocked. I bit my lip; I was starving, so much that it wasn't even funny! "Oh, by the way, about this exercise, I've decided. I won't send any of you back to the academy."

That lifted my spirits a lot. I grinned, and thought to myself, _Maybe Kakashi-sensei isn't such a mean guy._

He had a clear smile, from his visible eye. "Yes, all four of you… are being dropped from the program. Permanently." My eyes widened, and my heart dropped into my empty stomach. With those few words, Kakashi Hatake had crushed all the hopes and dreams that I'd ever had in my short twelve years of life.

My mind quickly went into overdrive, trying to figure out what we were missing. _We showed prowess in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, but I don't think we were required to know Genjutsu… all we needed to know was how to avoid it. But then… we all attacked separately!_

I opened my mouth to speak, and blurted, "Teamwork!" Kakashi-sensei, who was sitting on Sasuke, nodded, and gestured for me to continue. "We… we all attacked at different times," I said, my voice quieter than my outburst.

"It's too late now, but if all of you had come at me at once, you might have been able to take one of the bells," the silver-haired man confirmed.

Sakura demanded, "Wait, why did you quiz us on teamwork if there are only three bells? That still means one of us would still fail, no matter what! Even though you say that this test was about teamwork, you're pitting us against each other!"

Huffing impatiently, he replied, "That's the point. This test is purposely made to make you fight against each other. The purpose of this test is to see who is able to put their own interests aside and suggest working together so the team would pass." I gaped; that was why he had made sure to tell us that one of us would fail for sure. None of us wanted to be the one to fail.

_But we all went off and did our own thing. No wonder he decided that we were all failures… _I thought sadly.

"But you guys…" Kakashi continued, "Sakura, you ignored Naruto who was struggling right in front of you, and only thought about Sasuke, who's whereabouts you didn't even know. Naruto, you attempted to do what all of you together should've. Sasuke already decided that everyone else would slow him down, and that he was better off playing solo. As for Kayuki, I don't think that you had any idea where any of your teammates were, or what you was doing, but you needed help from your team." His foot pushed down harder on Sasuke's head as he added, "Ninja missions are always done by teams. True, individual skill is as important, but the most important thing for you is teamwork! If one person put their priorities above the rest of the team, it puts everyone else in danger. So much, in fact, that you might as well be the one killing them. For example…" He pulled a kunai out of his pouch and held it at Sasuke's neck. "Sakura, kill Naruto… or I'll kill Sasuke!" I winced, and looked from Sasuke to Naruto to Sakura, and back to Sasuke. "That's what could happen on a mission. The enemy takes a hostage, and you have to make the choice." He finally stood up, moving away from Sasuke, and stopped in front of an engraved rock. "Do you know what this rock is? Do you know who the names of the people engraved on it are?"

No one moved to answer.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

"The names are of people – ninja – who are honored in Konoha," Kayuki's quiet voice answered.

Naruto yelled, "That's it! I know now, that I want my name to be there! I won't live like this! I'll be like those guys, a hero!"

A quiet sigh came from the dark-haired girl. "I don't think you want to have your name there, Naruto." A curious gaze was shot at her from the rest of the team, while Kakashi-sensei watched. "Everyone on that stone has died. They were all killed in action."

"Including my best friend." Sasuke turned back to Kakashi, who had his hand on the rock, patting it almost sadly. "This is a memorial for the K.I.A. Ninja." Silence befell the four Genin, one that was heavy and uncomfortable.

Sasuke had to wonder if the names of any of his family were engraved on that stone. Anyone who had dared to stand up against _him_, maybe his mom or dad? Or maybe someone that he'd been friends with?

He didn't notice that Kayuki watched his pained face twist.

Kakashi finally said, "I'll give you one more chance. It'll be harder than the last challenge. You can eat lunch if you're prepared to take this challenge. _But_, Naruto doesn't get any. It's his punishment for trying to eat by himself, and not share with everyone else. And if anyone tries to feed him, they will automatically fail." Sasuke saw Kayuki about to protest, but the Jounin cut her off. "My word is the law on this team." With that, he disappeared.

Clearly put off by not being able to eat, Naruto shouted, "This'll be too easy! I'll be fine without lunch! Believe it!" The only thing that contradicted him was his rumbling stomach.

Sasuke and Sakura both opened their lunches, and as they began to eat, Sasuke kept watching Kayuki try to convince Naruto to eat her lunch, even though she'd only brought an apple. His eyes softened, even if just a little bit, and he extended some of his lunch to Naruto. "Here."

"What? Don't do that! If Kakashi-sensei finds out…" Sakura protested.

He shrugged. "Kakashi isn't here. If Naruto is hungry, he'll be weaker than the rest of us. That will hurt the team and put the mission at risk." Kayuki looked at Sasuke gratefully, and Sakura held out her lunch, too, towards Kayuki.

The other girl's eyes widened. "But… I have lunch… Naruto needs it more than I do."

Sakura sent her a look. "You really think that a single apple is a good enough lunch? It won't fill you up enough to be strong. B-Besides, I'm on a diet, and I won't eat all of this anyways!" she exclaimed, flushing a shade of pink at Kayuki's innocent stare. Sasuke watched all this as he split up the food between himself and Naruto.

"Thank you, Sakura," Kayuki said, smiling widely.

Sasuke watched as Sakura and Kayuki shared lunch, and then Kayuki took a bit of food, turning towards the posts. "Hey, what're you…" the Uchiha asked, looking at her with confusion on his face.

She smiled again at him, a little weaker this time. "I think Naruto's been waiting long enough to eat. Now, open up, Naruto." He did so, and ate the rice Kayuki fed him, smiling thankfully at his friend.

A burst of gray smoke filled the clearing, and Sasuke stood, facing whatever came out of the smoke. "You!" an angry Kakashi yelled, lunging at the four Genin. Naruto and Sakura screamed. "You broke the rules. I hope you're ready to be punished." The sky filled with the evidence of a storm. "Any last words?"

"But you said…" Naruto began.

"Yes?"

"You said that we're a team, and that's why everyone…" He cut himself off, looking at the trembling Sakura, defensive Sasuke, and scared, but defiant, Kayuki.

Sasuke finished his sentence. "We're on a team together, and we're going to fight as a team."

At those words, Sakura overcame her fear of Kakashi, and yelled, "That's right! We gave our lunches to Naruto because we're one!"

"Not only that, Naruto is our friend. And we won't let him starve," Kayuki added, her voice a little stronger than it would usually be. She stood in front of him, watching as the furious Kakashi advanced.

"The three of you are one? That's your reasoning?" The storm clouds cleared up as Kakashi smiled at his team. "You pass!"

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I blinked. _We… pass?_

"In the Ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are even lower than that." I smiled up at Naruto, who was cheering. Worse than scum, huh?

I looked down at the Konoha headband around my neck, and smiled. This meant that we would be true ninja starting tomorrow.

Since then, it'd been a week since we'd become a team.

Missions for Genin-only teams were basically just catching lost pets and weeding gardens. Not like I would complain; none of us would die or get seriously hurt. But some of these missions were completely stupid. Helping someone shop? That was just pointless. All of these people were adults, and could shop themselves.

So when Naruto threw a fit and started begging for a harder, more dangerous mission, the Hokage, surprisingly, agreed to allow it, much to both Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei's surprise. He gave us a C-rank mission, to escort and guard a cranky old man named Tazuna, who just so happened to be a bridge maker.

I ran up to the gate, my backpack almost dragging behind me. "Sorry, I got caught up by my grandmother," I apologized softly.

"No problem," Kakashi waved it off, holding Naruto back.

I blinked as we started off. We were heading towards the Land of Waves, and the trip was mostly uneventful. "Kakashi-sensei?" I asked. He looked down towards me. "Um… about that thing that I wanted to ask you a few days ago?"

He nodded. "Yes, what about it?"

Biting my lip, I asked, "Did you know a shinobi named Mamoru? Mamoru Aoba?" Kakashi-sensei looked at me curiously; he clearly had no idea why I would be asking about him. "Never mind. You can ignore that question."

"No, I knew him. Why?"

Before I could answer, two chains wrapped around him, holding him in place. I gaped at the two ninja, who tugged on the chains, ripping Kakashi-sensei into little pieces.

_No way!_

I saw the two ninja move towards Naruto, but before I could get to them, Sasuke flung a kunai then a shuriken, holding both of the chains in place. He quickly aimed kicks at both of the ninja's faces, but they recovered quickly, and they ran forward, aiming for Tazuna. Sakura and I both stood on either side of him, and I pushed Sakura out of the way of one of the ninja.

Sasuke appeared in front of me, preparing to take a hit, but Kakashi-sensei grabbed both of the ninja by the necks, holding them both. I walked up to Sasuke and bowed to him. "Thank you, Sasuke. You saved me from those claws." He sighed, and patted my head, walking away.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

It was either brave or stupid.

Naruto had stabbed his hand with a kunai, pledging to protect Tazuna, even if it killed him.

Kayuki only giggled, handing Kakashi a roll of bandages. Sasuke kept an eye on her as she did, watching as she asked the Jounin questions, and as he allowed her to bandage Naruto's hand, correcting her when she pulled too tightly or the bandages slipped. To him, it looked like they had some sort of other relationship, although he knew that she spent most of her time with Naruto or Sakura.

This plagued the back of his mind as they continued on along the river, towards the Land of Waves. They were traveling by boat, so the ninja who were after Tazuna didn't hear them.

As it turns out, the people that were after the old man were working for a man named Gato, a famous, wealthy tycoon who wanted Tazuna dead because the old man was the only one who could finish the bridge that would connect the Land of Waves to the mainland. That bridge would break his control over the Land of Waves, which meant that Tazuna was standing in the way of total control.

Sasuke glanced at Kayuki, who was deep in thought, her dark eyes clouded, as if she was in a faraway place. He reached over to her and tapped a fist on her head. "Ouch," she complained quietly, wincing. She looked over to Sasuke, who was staring at her with emotionless eyes.

"Don't get too far into your thoughts," he warned. "We're almost there." He nodded to the end of the tunnel they were currently in, where the mist cleared, and the shoreline was visible. She looked back at him and nodded.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

We reached the port, and as our boat left, Tazuna ordered, "Get me home, and I mean get me there in one piece." I sighed. He was a lot more trouble than he was worth.

I bit my lip; if those ninja were really after Tazuna, they wouldn't give up after one defeat. I dropped back next to Kakashi-sensei, and asked, "We're in a lot more danger now that we've defeated those Chunin, right?" He nodded wordlessly.

Along the way, Naruto was no help. Although, he did almost kill a snow hare with his kunai… My eyes narrowed sharply, and I put a hand on my weapons pouch.

"Look out!" Kakashi-sensei yelled. I dove to the ground, following Sasuke, and the broadsword flying right over our heads. Sitting up, I heard Kakashi-sensei walk up to someone, someone standing on the handle of the broadsword that was stuck in a tree. "Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, from the Village Hidden in the Mist." He moved his hand to his forehead protector, which covered his left eye.

Zabuza turned and asked, "Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye… did I get that right?" Sasuke eyed our teacher with confusion and bewilderment. "It's too bad… but you'll have to hand over that old man."

The Jounin pulled up his forehead protector to reveal a red eye with three black dots and a scar going over his eye. I bit my lip. "Stay out of this fight, got it?"

With menace in his voice, Zabuza mocked, "Well, this is an honor, huh? I get to see the Sharingan Eye in action." I bit my lip harder. Sharingan… the power to reflect and copy any jutsu used in its line of sight. Also known as the kekkei genkai for the Uchiha clan…

_Wait… that means Sasuke, right?_

I looked over to the young Uchiha and saw him, tense, with his fists clenched. Looking around, I moved to my position in front of Tazuna, in order to protect him, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke following me.

I shivered when Kakashi-sensei told us about Zabuza's "silent killing" technique. "Well, if we fail, we only lose our lives," he mused. That actually didn't make me feel a lot better.

The mist got thicker, until I couldn't see Kakashi-sensei anymore, but I could only feel Naruto and Sakura on either side of me.

"Eight points. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, collarbone, kidney, and heart. Eight kill points. Which will be my target?"

Fear ran up and down my spine, chilling me to the bone. I shivered, holding my kunai tighter.

_Don't be afraid, you're a ninja! You have a mission to protect the client who asked for protection. Don't be scared of Zabuza…_

I kept trying to convince myself that he wasn't as dangerous as Kakashi-sensei made him out to be, and that he wouldn't bother trying to go for children, like us. Then, I turned to see Kakashi-sensei, and his aura shook me to the core. He was always so laid-back around us, but now… he was so ready to kill it was scary.

It was then that Zabuza appeared right behind me. I yelped as I was pushed away from the assassin. A kunai buried itself in Zabuza's side, courtesy of Kakashi-sensei. "Sensei, behind you!" Naruto yelled. Another copy of the assassin was right behind him, and, for the second time that day, Kakashi-sensei was slashed in half. His broken form turned to water.

"Don't move." Another kunai appeared at Zabuza's neck, and I had to smile, however weak my smile was. I was just glad that Kakashi-sensei's murderous aura wasn't directed at me or at any of the team. "You're finished," he declared.

Zabuza simply laughed. "Finished? You don't get it, huh? I won't be defeated by a copycat ninja like you. Your technique was a cheap imitation." I scrambled to my feet as the other Zabuza, this time the real one, appeared, and the fake one collapsed into a puddle.

The assassin's foot came out of nowhere and slammed Kakashi-sensei a few yards, into the water. He emerged from the water, soaked to the bone, and as I moved towards him, he held up his hand.

"Fool. Water Prison Jutsu!" Zabuza's Water Prison Jutsu trapped Kakashi-sensei in a ball of dense water, allowing him absolutely no movement. I bit my lip, and heard Naruto yelp from next to me.

"Naruto!" I cried.

From his encasings, Kakashi-sensei ordered, "Listen to me; take the bridge builder and get away from here! Even though he's fighting with his water clone, the clone can't go far from his original body! If you get far enough away from here, he won't be able to follow you!"

My hands started trembling as I attempted to hold up my kunai in a defensive position. But nothing happened; I was too afraid… Seeing Kakashi-sensei so easily defeated, that really brought down my hopes.

Once again, my mind flew into overdrive, analyzing the situation. _Okay, so any damage to the clone should be enough to defeat his clone. But he can hide in the mist, where we can't see. And he'll always be able to find us, so running won't do us any good. If we run and he finds us, we won't have Kakashi-sensei, and we'll be done for. Our only hope is to help Kakashi-sensei from that Water Prison Jutsu._ Something hit me then. _Mist! I've got it!_

Sasuke ordered, "We have to do this," and I figured that he'd come to the same conclusion as I had.

Hand signs flew from my hands, and, in my mind, I ordered my body to force my chakra into the mist around me. "Mist Wolf Jutsu," I commanded.

Sasuke seemed to hear me, and flew at Zabuza, tossing shuriken, and then jumping at him. Without any problems, the older man grabbed Sasuke by the throat, and tossed him down, onto the ground. I winced; hopefully my jutsu would activate soon enough to help us out.

A howl rang through the air. Even Zabuza froze to listen. A ghostly form bounded towards our group of shinobi and kunoichi. Two piercing, golden eyes glared at Zabuza, and charged, jumping towards the man. The wolf, made completely of mist, kept growling, biting, and scratching at our enemy. It stood in front of Sasuke, baring its teeth defensively.

I slid behind the both of them, and attempted to throw a glare at Zabuza. It probably didn't look threatening, since I could feel myself shaking.

It was then that Naruto charged at Zabuza, while Sasuke scrambled to his feet. The young Genin was quickly pushed back. Even though he was pushed down once, stood back up, his headband once again in his hands.

With the wolf by my side, I rushed over to the rest of my team. "Hey you, the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your Bingo Book; the ninja that'll one day become Konoha's Hokage… never backs down," Naruto bravely glared at Zabuza. "The name is Naruto Uzumaki."

While Naruto and Sasuke shared their plan, the wolf at my side began to fade along with my stamina. With the little stamina that I had, I couldn't keep a jutsu activated for very long.

"Listen! This battle was over the moment I got caught!" Kakashi-sensei yelled. "Our mission isn't to prove your bravery or your strength! It's to protect the bridge builder! Now take off!"

I couldn't help it. "Kakashi-sensei… you said once that the ninja who abandon their friends are worse than scum… and you're our friend, aren't you?" I asked lowly, biting my lip. "When you first taught us about teamwork, you told us that we would be putting our lives at risk, and that we'd have to make a choice. My choice is to fight, and to save my friends!"

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

She had made a good, strong point. He smirked, and nodded in agreement. She was right. Even the old man looked thoughtful.

He declared, "Well, since this is my fault… forget about my life, and fight to save your sensei." Sasuke's smirk grew wider.

Looking over to Kayuki, he noticed that she was making discreet hand signs. It wasn't for a jutsu that he recognized. His ears barely heard her order, "Serpent King Jutsu."

He wasn't looking when Zabuza knocked him back, but he felt the pain when he slammed his elbow into his gut. Sasuke winced in pain, spitting out blood. Naruto's shadow clones appeared, and Zabuza removed his foot from Sasuke's chest. A snake appeared from the ground, wrapping around both of Zabuza's legs. The dozens of Naruto pulled out their kunai and piled onto Zabuza while Sasuke watched.

All of the Naruto's were thrown off, and he tossed something to Sasuke, which the other boy recognized as the Demon Wind Shuriken. _Nice job Naruto, this was a good plan._ With great strength, Sasuke threw the oversized shuriken.

But he wasn't aiming for the clone Zabuza, but the real body. Even so, the shuriken was caught with one hand. Sasuke smirked; he wasn't done. His Shadow Shuriken Jutsu was perfect. Until Zabuza jumped right over it. As it passed over the lake, the weapon disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Eat this!"

A kunai from Naruto flew right at Zabuza.

Unable to dodge otherwise, Zabuza pulled his hand from the water prison, and his jutsu was rendered ineffective. As Zabuza's attention turned towards Naruto, Kakashi stood from the water, a heated glare fixed on the assassin.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I watched, smiling, as Kakashi-sensei took on the dangerous shinobi, and knew that this time, he wouldn't be caught by any of Zabuza's tricks. He didn't just copy Zabuza's jutsus, but he mirrored each and every hand seal that Zabuza made, and reflected it back at him, creating the same jutsu at the same time.

They seemed equal in strength and in speed, but Kakashi-sensei had the advantage of being able to mirror the moves of Zabuza at the exact same time. He, quite literally, washed away any chance that Zabuza had of winning, and defeated him with his own move.

But just as Kakashi-sensei was about to finish Zabuza, someone else got there first, hitting him with two needle-like weapons. "You were right. It was his last battle," the masked figure said. Kakashi-sensei silently leapt down, and felt for a pulse.

Nothing. "No vital signs," Kakashi-sensei sighed.

The masked figure bowed to the silver-haired Jounin. "Thank you. I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time, waiting for the chance to finally defeat him," he thanked gratefully.

Kakashi-sensei studied the new arrival. "Judging by the mask, you're a tracker ninja, from Kiri." Also known as Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist.

Despite that, I was a little suspicious; he looked to be perhaps a little bit older than us Genin, but apparently, he was an elite tracker ninja. I just found it hard to believe that someone so young could be such a great, talented ninja already. Well, there were those who were prodigies, but those would most likely become ANBU, not an elite tracker ninja.

But I knew that there were children, younger than I was, that were already killing machines. With that, the young figure flickered away with the body. I kept looking down, wondering if I would ever be strong enough to kill someone like that boy was able to kill Zabuza.

"Well, let's get a move on," Kakashi-sensei ordered.

As soon as he stepped forward, he collapsed, face first, onto the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried.

* * *

**Boom. One long, shitty chapter.**

**Oh? Hello there! Someone's reading this? Oh my goodness! Congratulations for discovering this! My penname's Akira, if you didn't already know that. I go by Aki, if you want to ever talk to me. This here's my newest story, one that's been floating around in my skull for around five years. Kayuki is one of the first ever protagonists I created. Sure, she's tweaked in terms of personality, Mary-Sue-ness, and strength, but she's relatively the same.**

**I won't drone on and on like a lot of people do, or like I usually do. I just wanted to say hi, how's it going, please review, take my poll, check out my profile, read my other fanfics, all that fun stuff.**

**Have a great time guys! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Naruto: Lost in the Dark  
Mission 2: death match**

* * *

Turns out, Kakashi-sensei was just tired from using the Sharingan eye. We made it to Tazuna's home without any more problems, dragging Kakashi-sensei the entire way. He was resting peacefully, sleeping.

I sat on the porch, staring out at the forest, while the rest of Team 7 listened to Kakashi-sensei's explanation of the trackers and Zabuza.

Kakashi-sensei's head poked out of the house, and he called, "Kayuki. We're doing some last-minute training." I made a confused noise. "We figured out that Zabuza is probably still alive."

"Oh…" I said. "Really? Is it because of the tracker?" He nodded, and I saw Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke standing patiently behind him. "Okay. Let's go."

Out in the woods, Kakashi-sensei announced, "First, we'll review chakra, which is the ninja's basic source of ability." My hand raised tentatively. "Chakra is the energy that a ninja needs in order to use a technique." "Right, and that energy comes from the body, and is collective energy from every single cell in the body, and from the spirit energy gained from training and experience," Sakura added. "To put it simply, the body energy and the spirit energy, when molded together, create chakra that creates techniques. This is known as molding chakra."

Kakashi-sensei nodded. "That's right. But the thing is, you guys aren't able to use your chakra completely." Even Sasuke looked surprised at the new revelation. "Listen, to mold the chakra, you extract energy from your body and your mind, and then to mix them. The mixing, or amount of energy, will differ from which type of technique you want to use, between wind, thunder, water, fire, and earth. Right now, you aren't able to use your chakra effectively. Even if you mold a huge amount of chakra, unless you have the ability to balance and control it, that chakra is worthless. The jutsu won't work, or it'll be a joke. You'll waste chakra that way, and without chakra, you'll be unable to fight," the Jounin explained, his voice relatively flat.

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, Naruto asked, "How are we gonna be able to change that?"

The Jounin laughed. "Train so hard that controlling your chakra is like a second nature. Just be ready to put your life on the line."

Everyone seemed sort of shocked. "So… what do we have to do?"

"Climb a tree." … That was it? "Yep. Oh, but, you're not allowed to use your hands. Here, watch me." And, true to his word, Kakashi-sensei climbed up the nearest tree, with his crutches. I blinked twice, and then rubbed my eyes. "What you have to do is apply chakra to the soles of your feet. This way, you'll learn to mix the right amount of chakra. If you master this, pretty much any jutsu will be easier. And you'll also be able to maintain your chakra levels. Get it?" Kunai landed at our feet. "As you climb, mark the highest point that you can reach, and then try and beat it."

Picking up the kunai, I sighed. This'll definitely be fun. Closing my eyes, I focused the chakra to my feet, just enough so that I felt weightless. I ran at the tree along with my teammates, then kept my focus on the chakra in my feet, not on the height of the tree. My feet stuck to the tree bark, as if someone had put super glue on the bottoms of my shoes. Blinking, I opened my eyes, and realized that I was about to run into a huge branch.

"Hey, this is fun!" Sakura giggled. I looked over to her, where she was sitting on a high branch in her tree. She smiled and waved at the boys, who looked sort of annoyed that she'd beaten them. She looked over to me, and waved. I sent a small wave back, and I continued to walk onto the top of the branch, in the tree next to Kakashi-sensei.

Looking over to him, I asked, "Is this enough?" He smiled widely and nodded. "Well, do you want me to help them?"

"Only if they ask. Until then, continue climbing."

And so, we did. Naruto and Sasuke weren't making any progress, while Sakura was just plain tired. Despite her having good control, she didn't have a very high chakra level. While mine was just a little bit lower than Sasuke's, I figured that Naruto's had to be super high, seeing as how he was only scratched from falling. Unlike Sasuke, Sakura, or myself, he wasn't tired at all.

I sat on the ground, looking at both of their markings and comparing them. Sasuke's were definitely much higher than Naruto's. Kakashi-sensei had gone back to the house, sending Sakura to guard the bridge builder, and asking me to watch over the boys' training.

It was almost sundown, and they weren't making much progress, if any at all. They were more interested in their rivalry and competition than the training itself. I sighed softly, knowing that they weren't going to get anywhere if they continued like this, treating it like a competition.

Hours passed, and they were still going at it, attempting to beat their last climb. Now both of them were tired and scratched up, and still, both of the boys refused any help, even when I offered.

It was hours later, and Naruto was clearly getting fired up for one last attempt, which he'd probably make it. "Hey, Kayuki." The blond let out a loud yelp, tripping over his own feet, while I turned to the dark-haired boy. "Um… you managed to do this on your own… what would you say if Naruto asked you for advice."

I laughed quietly. "Here." I stood and walked over to him. "You just need to keep calm and focus, since your chakra control is mostly based on your emotions and focus level. Just keep your focus on the tree, and not on the competition," I advised quietly, looking at the marks on the tree.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Sasuke didn't even taste his food when he was eating. All he cared about was filling his stomach and getting his energy back up. Then again, if he didn't taste his food, Naruto probably didn't either. The two of them were practically inhaling their food, vomiting along the way.

He saw Kayuki's face pale a little. "You guys, don't you think eating so much so fast is just a little bit unhealthy…?" she asked weakly.

They both looked up from their seats. "I… have to eat," Sasuke managed.

"And I have to eat more than him. It's the only possible way that I'll be able to get stronger than him," Naruto added.

Kakashi nodded. "That's true… but puking won't help you very much."

After dinner, Sasuke listened as Tazuna told the story of Inari, his grandson, and his father. The young boy had watched as Gato put his father, who had saved him and the rest of the village, to death. That man had done everything to help Inari, to raise him, and then, when he needed a friend most, Inari was unable to help the man that he'd come to consider his father.

A chair slid across the floor. The dark-haired girl was staring at the floor, her eyes invisible from where Sasuke was sitting, and her hands were shaking. "Excuse me." She ran off in the same direction that Inari had gone only a few minutes earlier. The rest of the team watched sadly until Sasuke stood and followed her.

He heard two voices speaking quietly, behind a closed door. Curious, he leaned in to listen. "How would you know how I feel?" That was definitely Inari.

"… Because I've been alone for a long, long time… and I agree, it doesn't get easier… but the hurt starts to go away," a second voice said.

Inari yelled, "Shut up! You clearly don't know anything!"

"That's not true. I lost someone I cared about very much."

There was a brief silence. "… Who?" the younger voice asked.

"I… someone who influenced me… a lot…" A pause. "… they left me… and I don't know if they're alive or not."

"It's not the same!" Inari protested loudly. "Daddy… my daddy was killed in front of me, and there wasn't anything I could do to help!" It sounded like he was about to start crying at any time.

The other voice laughed dryly. "That is true, I'm not saying seeing people you love being hurt doesn't hurt you as well. But, you see, I had to watch this person get hurt in front of me many, many times. It was so long ago… that the wound the pain left sealed itself, even though the hurt stayed behind," they said wisely. "To tell you the truth, it never really stops hurting, especially if it's someone you love."

"Didn't you just say that the hurt starts to go away?"

The second person hummed a little, a familiar tune to Sasuke, before they answered the younger voice. "Yes… but you know, the heart protects itself… and it covers up the wound, but it's always there."

"You can't be much older than I am. How are you so… smart?"

The second person laughed again, this time with more humor than bitterness in the sound. "Well, I guess it's because, like you, I have a lot of experience dealing with life. How it hurts, how it knocks you down, and how it tells you to pick yourself up again." A sniffle. "Would you like me to stay here? With you?"

Another sniffle. "How long?" Inari asked weakly.

There was a pause, and a brief, awkward silence. "How about until you fall asleep?" the voice asked.

"That'd be nice…" The kid yawned loudly, and Sasuke's eyes softened a little bit. He knew what he was going through, losing the person most important to him. But to find out that Kayuki, too, was going through the same thing?

He sighed, and turned away. The dark-haired shinobi shook the thoughts out of his mind, moving on towards his own room, one he shared with Naruto. He glanced back once or twice, but continued on.

The blond never went to bed that night. Sasuke knew because he couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, staying awake all night.

Naruto didn't come to breakfast, either. Quickly shoved his food down his throat, Sasuke left, too. Kayuki quickly followed him, catching up with the other ninja. "Um… Sasuke…" she began. "Were you outside Inari's room last night?" she blurted out.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks. "How did you…"

"I… heard your footsteps," the girl replied, fidgeting with her shirt. "You… please act like you didn't hear any of that… I just…" Sasuke, despite his confusion, placed a hand on top of the shorter girl's head.

He patted her head, almost gently. "Don't worry, I won't say a word." She smiled up at him gratefully. "Besides, there's nothing for me to gain by knowing what you told Inari."

He paused, and looked to where Naruto was, and saw a beautiful figure, with long hair, walking towards them. Kayuki stepped back as the figure passed, and watched as Sasuke walked past them, seemingly challenging the person. Sasuke stopped, and looked back at her, then down to Naruto.

A quick smack to the head garnered quite a few protests from the short blond. "Hey twerp, did you just forget about breakfast? You're such a loser," Sasuke deadpanned. He only smiled in reply.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

After hours – no, days – of training, both Sasuke and Naruto were able to climb the trees using only their feet. They could even hang upside down.

I walked up next to Kakashi-sensei, who muttered to himself, "If I'm still sane by the time their training is finished, it'll be a miracle." I giggled a little to myself.

Looking up to the older man, I asked, "How are you feeling? Is your strength coming back to normal?"

He shook his head. "Not just yet. Maybe a little while longer." He paused. "By the way, knowing those two… they're going to push themselves even more. You and Sakura already made it all the way to the top, but I want you here in case something happens. I'm still… well." He gestured to his crutches.

Nodding, I replied, "Sure."

It was another long twelve hours, until the sun had completely set once again, that I could only see the two shinobi as little dots on the tops of two towering trees. I sighed. They pushed themselves too hard.

But their pride in what they'd done had been enough to convince me otherwise. We were all assigned to guard the old bridge builder the next day. I walked up to Tsunami, Inari's mother, and asked, "Do you have anything that I could try to heal those scrapes with?" She nodded, smiling, and moved to hand me some cloth soaked in water.

Kakashi-sensei watched as I sat next to Naruto, wiping some of the dirt and sweat off of his face.

"All this training you're doing… it's pointless! Gato has a huge army that'll destroy you! No matter what, you'll lose!" Inari glared at Naruto. "Looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about us! You're just here, laughing and joking! You have no idea how we're suffering!"

There was silence. No one spoke for a few tense moments. No one looked at Inari or at Naruto. Sasuke simply looked down at the table, flexing his fingers. Sakura was looking anywhere but at her teammate or the young boy. Kakashi stared at the ceiling, suddenly finding the wood interesting. I continued to wipe the dirt off of Naruto's face, my body refusing to allow me to meet his eyes.

I didn't need to see him in order to know that Inari's words had left a deep wound in his pride.

Naruto didn't move, but let out a feral growl before snapping, "Just listen to yourself, whining and complaining like a stupid victim!" Everyone turned to look at Naruto, who had been broken and beaten down more times than he'd care to admit. "You can cry all day, I won't care. But in my eyes, you're just a coward!" With that, he stood and left the table.

I moved next to Inari, wiping his tears away. "Inari, I know it's hard to believe, but Naruto… has had a hard time, too, maybe harder than you have." Inari didn't reply, but instead ran out onto the pier. Kakashi-sensei followed him only moments later, and I sighed heavily, toying with the wet fabric in my hands. "All this drama…"

Sasuke, from the other side of the table, called, "Hey… can I have that cloth? My face feels like crap."

Smiling softly, I sat next to him, wiping some dirt from under his eye. "Well, that's what you get for pushing yourself. You had the hang of it, why did you have to go so high?" I asked quietly.

He scoffed. "My best wasn't good enough to be the best. It wasn't good enough until I made it to the top."

_… Men._

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Naruto didn't leave with the other the next day. Sasuke figured that it was because he pushed himself too hard. Kakashi was even going with them, but Naruto was staying behind.

With Tazuna in the lead, Sasuke and Sakura trailing behind him, and Kayuki and Kakashi at the end of the small pack, the group of Shinobi left to for the unfinished bridge. But when they got there, the workers were down and out. Every single one of them had been attacked.

Sasuke immediately went into his defensive mode, and saw Sakura stay by the bridge builder, removing her kunai as well. Kayuki moved in front of Tazuna as the mist settled in. She made the same hand signs as she had made in the first match against Zabuza. "Mist Wolf Jutsu."

A loud howl pierced the air, and a semi-transparent white wolf landed on its four paws, standing defiantly next to Kayuki, and nodded to her, as if it knew her. She nodded back, and the wolf, growling, took up a defensive position in between her and Sasuke.

Sasuke felt his heart beating fast and loud in his chest, and couldn't figure out whether it was fear or adrenaline or a mixture of both feelings flowing through his veins at once. He felt his hand tremble.

It was then that Zabuza's voice rumbled, speaking lowly. That just made Sasuke's blood pump faster. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. I see those brats are still around. Hah, that one is still trembling. How pathetic."

Sasuke growled a little, his hand still shaking. Minutes had passed, yet he still was unable to decide whether or not it was fear or adrenaline. Four clones of the Demon Ninja appeared from the mist in front of Tazuna and Kayuki, Kakashi, Sakura, and himself. But then, he smirked. "I'm trembling with excitement," he spat out, finding his answer.

Kakashi looked over to Sasuke. "Go ahead." Within a second, the all the clones were defeated. Kayuki stared at the puddle in amazement, while the wolf's fur bristled, and the creature growled at the two figures that were approaching.

"So, he could see that they were all clones? He's good."

So, that tracker ninja really was working with Zabuza. They looked like good friends. Sasuke growled, "Who does he think he is, hiding behind that mask like a clown?" He didn't move, even as Haku, who was the masked ninja, flew towards him in a cyclone.

What he didn't expect was for Kayuki to jump in front of him with her wolf at her side, and raise her kunai in defense of her teammate. "Kayuki, what're you doing?!" Kakashi yelled in shock. She didn't turn or answer his question. Haku and Kayuki's weapons clashed, kunai to needle, but Haku easily disarmed the girl and pushed her aside.

Sasuke caught her in one arm, defending her from a killing blow with his kunai in his other hand. "We want the bridge builder, not you. If you back down now, I won't have to kill you," Haku said. Sasuke carefully lowered Kayuki to the ground, near her wolf, who was standing next to Sasuke defensively.

He glared at the masked ninja. "Save it."

"This is a huge mistake. You won't be able to keep up with me. Plus, I have two great advantages. The mist, and one of your hands is useless." Haku raised one hand, and began to make hand seals.

_Only one hand to use hand signs? How is that…_

"Secret Jutsu, a Thousand Needles of Death."

**=Akane Kayuki=**

Haku and Sasuke were going at it with each other, with shuriken, kunai, and any sort of jutsu they could use. I scrambled to my feet, my wolf at my side, only to see Haku at Zabuza's feet, hurt from a kick to the face from Sasuke. I sighed; well, that fight didn't last very long, now did it?

"You made a huge mistake in calling these young ninja brats," Kakashi-sensei said. "Sasuke here is our best young fighter in Konoha. And Sakura is our sharpest mind. And Kayuki is the quickest to think and react." I smiled at the praise. "And last, but not least, our number one, hyperactive ninja is Naruto Uzumaki."

I smiled, and bounded over to the Jounin's side. "Well, then Kakashi-sensei, should we leave this to Sasuke?" He nodded. "Huh… Sorry, Foschia, I guess that you don't need to stick around." Kakashi-sensei's visible eye blinked, as the wolf, Foschia, nodded and vanished into the mist.

"What's that?" I looked back to the battle to see blue chakra swarming around Haku, and several pillars of ice forming thin rectangles around Sasuke. The mirrors began to glow, and Haku stepped right into one of them. But his image appeared on each and every one of them.

Kakashi-sensei seemed to realize the danger that Sasuke was in. He put a hand on my shoulder, and he rushed forward. I trailed a little behind him.

Zabuza quickly blocked our path. "If you step into this fight, you're going to fight me," he ordered. I winced; this definitely wasn't in the plan…

_Now Sasuke will probably have to fight on his own, and Kakashi-sensei won't let me fight Zabuza. I could try…_

My thought process was interrupted by the pained cries coming from inside the wall of mirrors. I gaped. Sasuke… was getting beaten?

A kunai whizzed past me and was easily caught by Haku. But he'd entered the mirrors on the other side of the wall. How could he have moved like that?

I looked over to Kakashi-sensei, whose gaze was still trained on the other ninja. The two were staring each other down. My fist shook a bit. "I can't just sit here… Sasuke is getting hurt… and I can help…" He nodded, his visible eye not moving away from Zabuza. "Thank you."

_Okay, Haku can move between mirrors. Meaning the top and the sides are sealed off. So my only chance of getting in is to either shatter the mirror, or to… slide under._

Dropping onto my back, I slid underneath the mirrors, stopping only after I almost tripped right over Sasuke's form. "Ow," he complained dryly. "What're you doing? This is my fight."

Standing, I performed some hand signs, while saying, "Don't be stupid, Sasuke… this is the team's mission, isn't it?" I finished the hand signs, and activated another of my mother's techniques. "Neko Storm Jutsu." From the water near the bridge jumped a small, blue-gray cat. It scampered into the ring of ice mirrors, and sat down at my feet, mewing.

Sasuke just blinked.

"A… a cat? Really?" he asked bluntly, his eye twitching in disbelief. I sighed, and the cat, hearing his words, sat up and hissed, his fur bristling with electricity. As if to prove a point, the cat, named Uragano, leapt up, its claws sparkling with power and slashed at Haku's exposed arm.

I twitched a little. "Gano…" I called softly. After landing one tiny little scratch on Haku's hand, forcing him to drop the kunai, Uragano scampered back over to Sasuke and me. "Defend Sasuke to your last breath," I told him. The tiny cat mewled, telling me that he would do so, a fire of determination in his eyes.

Again, Sasuke's eye twitched. "I don't need your protection!" he spat, struggling to stand once more. "If I couldn't beat him, what makes you think that you have even the slightest chance?! Just get out of here, right now!"

"No!" I yelled back. His eyes widened at hearing me raise my voice. "What kind of person would I be if I just left you here to die? I wouldn't be able to live with myself… So just shut up! Let me do something that'll make me feel like I can be a real ninja!"

He blinked a few times, then sighed and sent a smirk up at me. "Fine. Looks like you won't give up without a fight," he said, agreeing to let me help. "But if it looks like you're going to die, get out of here."

"I already told you that I won't… and I won't abandon you, even if it costs me my life." He stared at me as both Uragano and I blocked the needles from hitting Sasuke. "Someone told me that, as a ninja, I would have to put the safety of my teammates before my own. They made me promise that I'd never abandon them, not ever." I glared up at Haku, and firmly vowed, "Even if I die, I won't go against the promise I made that person."

Haku deadpanned, "Touching speech. But it won't do you any good if I take you out now." One of his needles finally managed to strike me, right where it hit Zabuza the first time, in the neck.

Uragano mewed in pain as a needle struck him, too, and he melted back into his original form, a small puddle of water. I had no time to move as I fell to the ground, next to Sasuke.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

"Kayuki…?" asked Sasuke tentatively. He reached out a weak arm to shake her awake. Then, he saw his teammate's open eyes and he reached for her neck. There was no pulse.

Was… she dead?

He saw the needle sticking out of the girl's neck, and sighed in relief. She was alive, but in a death-like trance.

Growling, he tossed a kunai at Haku in one last feeble attempt to defeat the older boy. But, just like before, Haku managed to catch the kunai in one hand, leaning out of his mirror.

A shuriken came out of nowhere, striking the masked shinobi in the face and knocking him out of his mirror. Sasuke watched as Haku struggled to sit up, dazed from falling, and an explosion of smoke signaled the arrival of the number one, hyperactive ninja, Naruto Uzumaki.

_Stupid. He shows off too much._

The blond stood there with his stupid grin. "Naruto Uzumaki has arrived! Believe it!" Sasuke nearly smiled. Nearly. He didn't because he knew that… "Now that I'm here, everything will be just fine! And now, I'm going to be the hero that shows up late and then kicks the bad guy's butt!"

… yeah, that's why.

_You should've stayed hidden you complete moron. Then, we could've used you in a surprise attack!_

He barely had time to blink as several shuriken flew towards Naruto, courtesy of Zabuza. But before Sasuke could yell at Naruto to move his stupid butt, Haku's needles made the shuriken drop to the ground.

_Why would he stop Naruto from being killed?_

Zabuza turned on the masked boy and demanded, "Haku, what are you doing?" in an angry, almost furious, yet deadly calm voice.

"This boy… Zabuza, let me fight him in my own way," the boy requested. "Please."

Sasuke twitched; this didn't look good for Naruto. He looked down to the girl who was laying on him, and removed the needle from her neck. "You're too soft," the assassin pointed out.

_Soft? Wait…_ Sasuke examined his wounds, as well as Kayuki's. _That's right. He just scratched me with his needles, but he didn't hit any vital points. Even on Kayuki, who he put into a death-like trance… he could've killed her._

He pushed Kayuki's motionless body out of the ice cage, but didn't move an inch. Instead, he pulled another kunai from his pouch, holding it in his hand.

_While he's talking… I can catch him off guard! _He threw his kunai at Haku's head, but in one swift motion, the other boy dodged it.

"Don't think that I forgot about you. I haven't. Not for a single moment." Haku didn't even turn to Sasuke, but kept his gaze on Naruto. "There are some ninja that accept defeat with grace, and know when they are beaten. Others do not. If this is what you wish, we will finish our battle… to the death."

As Haku appeared in one of the ice mirrors, Sasuke's gaze didn't move from the real one, and moved to grab a weapon. _The real one is over there,_ he kept telling himself.

"I'm behind you." The mirror was empty, and he moved to stare at the mirror behind him.

One Haku… then two, then three…

The mirrors kept filling up with images of the other boy until Sasuke couldn't tell which was real. But a barrage of needles, coming from all different sides, told him that every single one of those images was real. Once again, the needles didn't hit any vital spots, and only scratched his skin.

Thoughts flew through his mind. _This isn't a normal jutsu… maybe he has clones in the mirrors? But they're too fast to be clones. If it was a clone jutsu, the ice mirrors wouldn't be necessary. So… what should I do about those mirrors? Maybe… _his line of sight landed on Naruto. _It's about position. And with Naruto on the outside, and me on the inside, we could shatter those mirrors._

"Hey, Sasuke!" Twitch. "I snuck in here to save you!" Immediately, Sasuke took one look at Naruto's bright smile, and twitched again. "Pretty sweet move, huh Sasuke?" the blond idiot asked. Sasuke simply stared at his teammate, in wonder at his stupidity. Even Sakura and Kakashi were appalled.

In an angry outburst, Sasuke snapped, "You're so hopeless! Think about your moves before you make them!" The two kept arguing, and even Kakashi looked like he would hit Naruto when he got out. Finally, the dark-haired Shinobi stood up, making the hand seals for his Fireball Jutsu. "The mirrors are made completely of ice, and fire melts ice!" He put his two fingers to his lips. "Fireball Jutsu!" Flames were blown out from his hands, but the mirrors didn't melt.

In fact, it didn't seem like those mirrors had even felt heat.

"You'll need more heat than you have to melt this ice," Haku stated, holding up three of his needles. In a bright flash, both of the young shinobi were blown back, letting out pained cries.

Sasuke felt as if he would never be able to see again, and he felt warm blood trickle down his face again. Naruto had landed next to him, and the blond ninja jumped up, demanding, "Where are those stupid needles coming from? Which one is real?"

The voice of Haku resonated around the ice blocks. "You can examine all of these mirrors, but you'll never know which one is real."

As Sasuke attempted to regain possession of his thoughts, he heard Naruto yell, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He opened his mouth to warn Naruto, but it was too late. All of the Naruto's were easily being scratched and destroyed by Haku's swift movements. In a burst of smoke, the shinobi landed next to Sasuke. He looked down at Naruto, who was struggling to even sit up.

_This could be a problem._

He decided that he would try his best, and his best would definitely be good enough to beat the crap out of Haku. A smirk took over Sasuke's face. He and Naruto would win. That much was certain.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I felt myself pushing back into consciousness, and I practically forced my eyes to open. Sitting up, I saw an injured Sasuke lying there, seemingly dead. With my weak limbs, I forced myself to stand up. I could feel the point where the needle pierced my skin still aching and numbing my movements. There were needles sticking out of his body, all over. I winced, and gently began to tug at the ones that I knew wouldn't kill him if I took them out.

The Uchiha had taken a lot of severe damage, and I could see the blood crusting over from the scratches on his face. I pushed his black hair out of his face. He looked like he was sleeping, but I felt no pulse coming from his neck.

"How did you get this beat up?" I asked the unconscious boy, smiling softly down at him. "I thought that you were the 'invincible' Uchiha. You shouldn't die from just a few needles…" I trailed off, seeing several drops of a clear liquid falling to the ground near Sasuke. I attempted to wipe away my tears that were streaming down my face faster than I could ever have imagined.

His heart wasn't beating. He showed no signs of life. I tentatively took his hand in mine. I had been out cold long enough for Sasuke to get this badly beaten up? He'd protected me from being killed… and I was in his debt.

My tears fell to the ground, as I was no longer attempting to wipe them away. My eyes were badly bloodshot while I continued to cry. "Stupid Sasuke!" I cried. "You saved my life, and now I can't even repay you?! Why did you have to go and get yourself killed?!"

I stood up. My legs felt like jelly. They felt like I'd collapse any second, like they wouldn't to be able to keep holding me up. But I'd force them to keep me upright if I had to.

I felt useless. While Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura were all doing a great job, and they'd all been in danger and been hurt, I had been knocked out during most of the fight. I growled a little to myself, but then I saw why it had been so quiet.

With a lightning-covered hand, Kakashi-sensei had cut right through Haku's chest. There was crimson liquid that drenched the ground and both Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza. Nearby was a mirror. Covered in blood. It was then that I knew what Haku had done. He had sacrificed himself for Zabuza, taking the hit that would have been fatal.

Without a word, Zabuza jumped, and swung his sword, preparing to hack right through the boy that had been loyal to him, just to kill Kakashi-sensei. At the last second, the Jounin leapt out of the way, kneeling on the bridge a little ways away from the heartless killer. My blood began to boil, and I felt a sense of hatred that I'd never had for anyone. Zabuza had no morals, and no sense of honor. My teacher gently pushed the boy's eyes closed, laying his lifeless body on the ground.

Haku was dead.

I could only watch, and not show any emotion as Sakura and Tazuna ran past me, towards Sasuke's body. I turned away, not able to bear the emotion that Sakura showed for her crush and obsession. Just because he never returned her feelings didn't mean that he didn't care for her. They were closer than I would ever be to any of this team.

But my chest still began to hurt as I heard Sakura's unbearable wailing. I wasn't sure that I was in pain simply because of Sasuke's demise, but maybe it was also because of how Sakura clearly felt for the boy.

My mind was anywhere but the present, and I could feel myself slowly sinking back into the isolated part of my brain. It was where I would go when I was numb, and scared. I didn't respond during the rest of the battle.

Not even when Zabuza died.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

She was curled up into a tiny ball, leaning on the side of the unfinished bridge. He could see tear streaks running down her cheeks, and he could see the small tears still leaking out of her eyes. Kayuki seemed to be in the recess of her own mind, oblivious to the world of pain and suffering going on around her.

Sasuke smirked triumphantly. He pulled out all of the needles that had been tossed into his body, feeling numb as they left. He shakily walked over to her, and knelt down.

"You have such a blank expression on your face. Are you dead?" he mocked, poking her forehead gently.

Slowly, as if his voice was registering in her head, her vacant eyes began to shine with that innocent curiosity once again. Her dark hair had fallen in her face, and Sasuke pushed a piece out of her eyes. Kayuki looked up at him, with awe written on her face. "Sasuke?" He nodded. "I thought…" The awe on her face turned to a slight scowl. "You jerk!" cried the girl. "You scared me so much! I-I should…" She made an annoyed sound, huffing and turning away.

He held up his hands. "Hey, I thought I was dead, too." He paused. "Did I really worry you that much?" he asked carefully, examining her tears. She nodded. Reaching up carefully, she hugged him softly. He winced, in clear pain, and she drew back, her eyes showing even more worry. "I'm fine. Just a little numb."

Kayuki smiled weakly. "Sorry about that, Sasuke." He blinked; what was she sorry for? She had nothing to apologize for… did she? "I wasn't much help to you, was I? I just got in the way, even after I said that I'd help you out," she mused, looking down at her feet. Her eyes were suddenly downcast, and she once again looked as if she would begin to cry at any moment in time. "I was… useless. Completely useless," she muttered, once again retreating into herself. "I let you do all the fighting, and I failed to even protect myself."

He put a hand on her head, an almost gentle look on his face. "You helped me more than you know… Kayuki." He paused. "It wouldn't have made a difference. He wasn't aiming to kill you or me. So stand up; we're both still living." He stood up again, offering her a hand.

She grasped it tightly as he helped her up. She looked up at the sky, her eyes staring blankly up at the clouds. "It's snowing," she stated, holding her free hand out for a snowflake to land in her open palm. Her eyes suddenly moved to the other side of the bridge. "It must be because the angels are sad for them."

It was then that Sasuke looked over to the fallen ninja, Zabuza. Kakashi had carried him over to his student, who was still lying dead on the bridge. Snow had begun to fall, as if the sky was beginning to cry for both Zabuza and Haku. The two shinobi were laid side by side, and the older was exchanging words with his dead partner. Light seemed to shine down on the two as the ninja died.

For the first time, Sasuke saw the assassin not as a danger and not as a monster, but as a human. He had human emotions, and, even as he was dying, showed sadness and regret.

It made Sasuke want to stare at his feet in shame; it was almost like what he had wanted to do to his teammates, the ones who had protected him and cared as Haku had for Zabuza. Guilt began to swirl in his mind and his heart, eating away at the walls he'd built up and hidden behind since he was little.

But his eyes refused to tear themselves away from the morbid and heartbreaking sight. Kayuki, who still stood shakily next to him, had once again begun to cry. She was silent as her tears slipped from her dark eyes.

He barely heard her say, "I will never forget…"

She wasn't looking at him, but at the two missing nin, with a sort of admiration.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

The burial ground for the now-deceased missing-nin was two simple grave markers, with Zabuza's sword behind one, and Haku's headband hung of the other. The sun was setting as we left their graves behind, not looking back. They both died brave deaths, but awful ones, too.

Their deaths made us all question why we were doing this. Why we were putting our lives on the line for people who only seemed to want to take advantage of us, and to die a horrible death, filled with regret.

Was it like that for _him_?

It was less than a week later that the bridge, which was named The Great Naruto Bridge, was finished, and the entire village came along to see us off. I knelt down in front of Inari, who was close to sniveling sadly.

"Don't cry, Inari. We'll try and visit whenever we have free time." I smiled at the young boy, reassuring him that it wasn't the last time that we'd se each other. I looked up at Kakashi-sensei, who nodded. "I have to go now."

The eight-year-old boy wrapped his arms around my waist. "Bye, big sister!" he wailed sadly.

My eyes widened, but I patted Inari's head. "No, Inari. Not 'goodbye.' Say, 'I'll see you later,' because we will."

He nodded, a bright smile coming back to his face. "Right. I'll see you later!" he exclaimed, much more cheerily than he had in the past few minutes. I smiled even wider, and moved towards my teammates, looking at Naruto's teary face. "See you all later!"

I turned around raising my arm in farewell. "See you later, Inari!"

Finally, Team 7 departed the Land of Waves, heading back home, to Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, and I were heading back home.

"As soon as we get back, I'm gonna go out for ramen Iruka-sensei! His treat, of course, and then, I'll tell Konohamaru all about the mission! He'll worship me!" Naruto decided.

Sakura turned to Sasuke. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

She snapped, "I wasn't talking to you, Naruto." The blond immediately deflated. "Do you want to do something with me when we get back, Sasuke?" Sakura asked hopefully.

Sasuke twitched a little beside me. "No thanks, I'm not really interested," replied the dark-haired boy. Sakura deflated to Naruto's level.

Naruto jumped in, "I'll do something with you, if you want!"

"What?! That was a private conversation!" Sakura yelled. "Beat it!" With one mighty hit, she flung poor Naruto right off of the bridge.

Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke both rolled their eyes. I laughed, and mused, "Well, I have a lot to do when I get home… I have someone I have to visit." I smiled a little, remembering the promise I'd made to that person, saying that I'd be home soon, and I'd be safe when I came back.

**=Hyuuga Neji=**

He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting underneath a tree at one of their secret training grounds they always played at when they were younger. He looked up to the sky, and smirked a little. The Chunin Exams were coming up soon, and he had to prepare for them. What better way to do so than to spar with an old friend?

"Neji!" He looked up sharply to see his dark-haired friend rushing towards him. A small smile came over his face as she stopped short, right in front of him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! We just got back and there were tons of missions! We couldn't leave until the bridge was completed, so we were a little hung up, but you'll never believe what happened! I mean, it was so exciting, but really scary at the same time, and I was just wondering if you had to ever do anything like that, and I thought that I'd ask you, and…" she trailed off, taking a deep breath after talking.

Neji raised one eyebrow in amusement. "Are you done, Yuki?"

Kayuki Akane nodded. "More or less."

Chuckling a little bit, he led her over to where he had lunch set up for the two of them so they could catch up. "So, then, tell me all about your fun little adventure." He paused. "But from what I hear, it was anything but little."

She groaned loudly. "Ugh, you know it!"

Neji laughed a little. To the outside world, Kayuki and Neji were two people who kept to themselves, and, to most people, would have absolutely nothing in common. But they'd been best friends for ages, and had always been there for each other.

"Wait, so you're telling me that you and your team, on your first C-Rank mission, faced Zabuza, who is known for being a cold-blooded killer, and you survived?" he asked incredulously. She nodded. "Wow, you guys must be strong. So are the four of you going to be entering in the Chunin Exams?"

Kayuki cocked her head a little. "The Chunin Exams? What's that?" she asked, totally genuine in her confusion. "Is it important?"

In reply, Neji nearly fell over.

"Of course! The Chunin Exams is a group of tests that examine teams of Genin from all over the Fire Country. It's being held in Konoha this year," he announced, clearly boasting his knowledge of the exams.

Kayuki just looked thoughtful at this point, a finger to her lips. "That sounds really interesting… Maybe Kakashi-sensei would let us join."

Both friends looked at each other with a knowing look.

There would be no mercy from either side.

* * *

**Yes, you have a right to shoot me.**

**No, you cannot.**

**I only update when I feel like I can, and that's after I write, edit, and upload the chapters. I'm having a tough time getting everything done since NaNoWriMo is this month and I fell super far behind. So I'll be busy for the rest of November. Hope you don't mind, plus I'm working on several other stories at once and school is kicking my butt.**

**So... yeah. Sorry guys.**

**Reviews make my muse go up!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Naruto: Lost in the Dark  
Mission 3: one by one by one**

* * *

I showed up late to training the next day. No one was very happy with me.

My response was just to laugh nervously. "Sorry, sorry. I was actually sparring with someone yesterday… and he got me real good, I'm still kind of sore." As if to prove a point, I rubbed my still sore back. Neji had a real good kick. He sent me flying back a couple dozen feet.

Kakashi-sensei seemed to smile. "That's fine, you didn't miss much, just the start of the mission." He held out the leash in his hand. "Here; I grabbed this one for you before we left the place."

At the end of the leash was a husky puppy, whose tail was wagging. He yipped a little and I simply picked him up. "We're just dog-sitting, right?" Kakashi nodded. "No problem here! This little guy is just too cute." The puppy yipped once more, his nose nuzzling my cheek.

With that, the mission started.

And of course, Naruto somehow managed to screw things up. I laughed nervously as the giant dog dragged the blond into a minefield. Several explosions let the rest of us know that he'd stepped on several mines. All Sakura and Sasuke could do was watch incredulously at his stupidity. I just laughed a little more.

Yet after the mission, relations between Naruto and Sasuke reached a head as I was chatting with Kakashi. Both of us stayed silent and watched, both of us completely and totally drained from dealing with the three all day.

"This team is complete chaos, isn't it?" I muttered to Kakashi. He nodded, glancing at his book again. "Um… promise me one thing." The Jounin looked at me. "Get me out of here if any of them look murderous."

His eye twinkled with humor. "I'll bring you to your friend."

He was forced to keep his promise rather quickly. Sasuke quickly irritated Sakura by shooting down her outright confession once again. Naruto just made it worse by even opening his mouth. Kakashi quickly put his hand on my shoulder and used his jutsu to get the both of us away safely.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Sasuke approached the training field in order to… well… train. He wasn't dumb, like Sakura or Naruto. He knew that the Chunin Exams were coming up soon, and he had to get strong enough to pass.

When he got to the field, he saw two figures already training. He noticed a boy with long, black hair and pearly eyes aiming kicks and punches at a young girl whose hair was pulled back into a long ponytail. She simply continued to dodge the attacks.

"C'mon, Yuki! You can move faster than that, keep working at it!" the boy yelled. She jumped up and performed several hand signs. The boy's eyes widened a little and he leapt back before jumping and performing a kick.

Sasuke sighed before turning around to go back to his other teammates. "Neji, no using your eyes! That's so cheating!" he heard the girl yell.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

Before long, both Neji and I were out of breath and walking back along. "No way, you only beat my monkey because you used your Byakugan!" I retorted, crossing my arms and pouting.

He chuckled. "You keep telling yourself that, Yuki. I won fair and square. In the exams, Kekkei Genkai are perfectly legal." I just sputtered again before huffing in complete defiance.

"Bastard."

After Neji laughed again at my poor attitude, he paused. "Get down."

The two of us ducked down behind the fence, listening to a group of at least five people quarreling. Hopefully no one could hear us.

"First, I'm gonna waste this punk, then I'll squash the other," an unfamiliar voice drawled. My eyes widened as I heard a yell of protest. I exchanged a look with Neji. It was Naruto who yelled.

Without thinking, I performed a few hand signs. "Fox Fire Jutsu."

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Right after his own entrance, as the Sand Ninja continued to threaten him, a fireball zoomed past the two Sand Nin. Everyone looked to each other to see who had been the person to throw the fire.

He could hear another voice laughing from the other side of the fence. He looked over to see Kayuki, her arms looking somewhat bruised, but sitting on the fence with a fox made completely of flames. "You should stop trying to pick a fight here and now." She slid off of the fence and fearlessly approached the taller ninja. "You realize that fighting an unprecedented battle against the host village will cause bad relations for all of us, and it won't look pretty if your name is on the official records," she scolded him.

"Hn. What do I care?" he snapped.

Her eyes narrowed. "Look, I'm just saying that fighting now is going to put your exam eligibility at risk, especially since you're visiting simply for the exams. It's recommended that you keep relations clean."

The boy's hand simply moved closer towards the package on his back, all wrapped in bandages. Kayuki, with wide eyes, began to back off, the fox trailing near her feet. She backed up a bit until someone's loud voice rang through the air.

"Kankuro, stop."

The boy, now known as Kankuro, immediately froze in terror. Sasuke froze, too, but he froze in shock. He looked behind him and saw a boy with red hair and black all around his eyes. On his forehead was the kanji for "love." He stood upside down, his feet attached to the tree branch behind Sasuke.

How he snuck up on Sasuke, the black-haired boy didn't know.

He stared at the boy who had so clearly struck terror into the two Sand Nin. Kayuki just gazed up at the boy curiously, her fox disappearing as the flames flickered out and died.

"You're embarrassing all of us," he snapped.

Kankuro faltered and smiled sheepishly. "Uh… hey, Gaara! What's up?" The air was tense for a moment before Gaara's teal eyes flickered from person to person. His eyes landed on Kayuki, who just stared back. "Well… they started it… ya know? Here's what really happened."

"Kankuro. Shut up… or you're dead."

A shiver ran up Sasuke's spine as the two, Gaara and Kayuki, locked eyes and stared at each other for a few moments. She didn't look afraid of him, but his eyes were sparkling with bloodlust.

Gaara stared right at Kayuki. "I apologize for any trouble he caused."

She shook her head. "No. We were at fault, too, please accept my apology for my teammates' actions," she replied quietly, bowing. Turning to the rest of the brats who stood on the side, Kayuki prompted, "You should apologize to Kankuro, as well."

Looking sheepish and reluctant, the group chimed, "We're very sorry." Sasuke just sat in the tree, watching all of this, staring over to Gaara, who finally turned and stared back.

The two Genin were sizing each other up.

Within a few seconds, Gaara disappeared as sand and reappeared in front of his taller teammates. Kayuki smiled a bit, looking as warm and welcoming as ever.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

"You three are here for the Chunin Exams, aren't you," I stated more than asked. The taller girl turned around and nodded. I held my hand out. "Sorry, but I think I should ask for your passports… right?"

She smiled a bit, grinning down at me. "Sure. Here you are." She fished out an official piece of paper with her name and picture on it, as well as other vital information. Her name was Temari, she was fifteen, and she was a Genin from the Sand Village. "That enough?"

I handed it back to her, a small smile still etched on my face. I hoped no one could tell I was being wary around these people. Temari made a confused face; clearly, my smile looked weird in some strange way. "Well, since you're knew," I attempted to amend, "why don't I give you a tour of some of the village if you're not busy at the moment?"

Both Temari and Kankuro looked to Gaara, who was still staring at my face. I felt tempted to take a step back. I didn't though. I stayed frozen in place, trying my best not to start shaking under his intense gaze.

"No thanks." Gaara's voice was flat as he replied. "You shouldn't feel obliged to give us a tour."

I nodded and proceeded to begin walking away. "All right, fine. Feel free to track me down if you need anything else." Gaara made a small noise before I jumped the fence and walked away.

A presence at my side alerted me to Neji's reappearance. "That's Gaara of the Desert. He's got a reputation of being a 'monster' in the Village of the Sand. You need to be more careful around him… he could kill you," he muttered, putting a hand on my shoulder.

Shaking my head, I looked up a little. "I'm not afraid of him. I saw him. He's not a murderer and he's not a monster. All I saw was a childlike figure who needs a little love."

Neji gave me a strange look. "You do realize that you have a habit of reading people in strange ways, Yuki."

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. That's what I saw. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" It was Neji's turn to shrug. I shook my head and sighed. "Never mind me, Neji. Let's just train, okay? Enough about Gaara or the Sand Nin. The Chunin Exams are coming up, and we have to practice enough so that both of us can pass."

"That's right. We should focus on that for the next week."

**=Hatake Kakashi=**

He was late again for training the next day.

But this time, he actually had an excuse. Kayuki had sent someone to his door, the Hyuuga boy, and had asked him to help her out. She'd been training with her skills in Taijutsu, which Kakashi knew were non-existent. So she was really sore and tired.

He'd stopped at her house, where her grandmother had greeted him warmly. "Come in, young man. She's still asleep, but I can get her up. Feel free to eat a little breakfast while you're here."

The old woman had made waffles, sausages, rice, and miso soup. He hadn't had a meal like that in the longest time. While she was upstairs, Kakashi helped himself.

Only minutes later, he heard footsteps running down the stairs and he quickly finished off his meal, pulling his mask back over his face. Kayuki called, "You good, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah, all set."

She walked in, tying her hair up hastily with a hair tie. Kakashi quickly noticed the weariness in her legs and sighed. "Sorry about this, Kakashi-sensei, and thank you very much. If there's anything I can do…"

He shook his head as he stood. "Nope. That meal was fantastic, I think we're even because of that."

"Good, 'cause apparently grandmother made lunches for the team today," she replied, walking into the kitchen. He noticed her legs shaking and the bruises all over her bare arms. He frowned; overworking herself again.

As the two stood outside, Kakashi knelt. "Get on," he demanded quietly. She clambered onto his back clumsily, almost dropping the lunch boxes. "Hang on tight, we're going super fast now."

Not moments later, he appeared in front of the rest of his Genin team. Kayuki waved. "Good morning!" she cheered.

Kakashi waved as well. "Sorry we're late; I got lost on the path of life, and I met Kayuki at the crossroads."

"You liar!" both Sakura and Naruto cried.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I listened quietly as Kakashi-sensei explained the Chunin Exams to the rest of my team. He handed me a form after he passed out the forms to the other three as well. I read it over before filling it out.

Not a week later, the Exams had approached. Genin teams from all over were pouring in to take the Exams and become Chunin. Neji and I had been training for days.

But the thing is, my physical strength hadn't increased one bit, even with all the training I'd been doing with Neji. I was forced to keep attacking from the sidelines using my Ninjutsu. I was easily broken, my skin bruised and cut much to quickly for my liking.

I was, to be perfectly honest, very disappointed in myself.

But when a rogue ninja from another village approached me, I couldn't resist the challenge. Unfortunately, it hadn't been much of a challenge. After I restrained him with my Spider Root Jutsu, he vanished using the Substitution Jutsu.

I pursed my lips and sighed. I'd hoped that it would be a chance to get stronger, but to no avail.

The next day, when the Chunin Exams came into play, I got there early. I walked inside to see Neji and his two teammates being badly beaten by two other Genin who were clearly the typical, overconfident males.

I pushed my way through after seeing one of them lay a hand on a woman.

"Hey!" I snapped. All eyes turned towards me. "Hitting a woman for no good reason is the worst thing a man could do. You should apologize."

The two boys snickered and I felt Neji's hand tugging on my arm, trying to pull me back. "What's it to you, sweetheart? Oh, don't tell me you're entering the Chunin Exams, too. What a joke!"

Calling me a joke… now that was a mistake. "Oh, so I'm a joke, am I?" I growled, my voice sounding much braver than I felt. I quickly made a group of hands signs. "Snow Dog Jutsu."

When nothing happened immediately afterwards, the boys both snickered.

"Aw, is the little girl upset?"

I growled again, this time a tinge more upset than the first time. "Call me a joke if you want… but you'll see who's the joke after these Exams." The boys continued to snicker until a bundle of white tackled them to the ground. Sitting on the boy on the right's chest was a large, white dog that growled and placed one paw on each hand. Their hands froze immediately. "Who's upset now?"

Turning, I eyed my teammates, who were walking through. Sasuke's face remained impassive, but Sakura and Naruto both looked a little shocked and frightened by my fierce attack on two fellow Leaf Genin.

Neji placed a hand on my shoulder again. "You've shown these two enough. Why don't you step back and let someone else give it a try?" he muttered. I nodded slowly and backed up to stand next to him.

"Why didn't you do something?" I asked quietly. "You're stronger than they are; you could've beaten them to a pulp if you wanted to." He just chuckled, not answering my question.

Sakura's voice cut through my thoughts. "We're only on the second floor." I blinked; that meant that these two Genin had used a Genjutsu to conceal that from us. Of course, Sakura would have figured it out.

I knelt and helped the other girl to her feet. She sent a grateful smile at me while I helped the other member of her team to his feet. He had bushy eyebrows and a green jumpsuit on. He didn't look like much, and he'd proved that by getting knocked around. How he'd made it into the Chunin Exams, I may never know.

But he quickly proved himself to be someone who could hold his own. As Sasuke and one of the Genin began to attack each other, preparing to send a kick and a punch at one another, the boy quickly reappeared between the two.

He'd caught both of the boys attacks and held them there.

One would have been one thing, both is a completely different idea.

My eyes widened at the sight. So did Sasuke's. I blinked a little and looked up at Neji, who suddenly looked quite irritated with the other boy. "That moron. He wasn't supposed to…" he stopped himself, still looking rather irritated.

I, on the other hand, was amazed. He had to have such a large amount of chakra in just his arms in order to keep them from ripping each other to shreds. He gave both of their legs a good squeeze before dropping them and casually dropped them. Sasuke took a step back, looking somewhat irritated by the amount of strength that this boy had.

Looking to Neji, I asked, "Who is that?"

"Rock Lee," he replied steadily. "He's the Taijutsu master of our group. He's the strongest of all of us physically." I looked to the other boy, who I now knew as Rock Lee, and my eyes went wide.

If Lee was stronger physically than Neji, who was insanely strong in the first place, I would be toast if we were forced to face each other. I had no physical strength and I knew it. I drew behind Neji a bit, who chuckled good-naturedly and patted my head a bit.

"Lee. I thought we agreed that we'd be laying low for the first part of the Exam," Neji snapped at his teammate. Lee looked at his feet and shuffled them a bit, somewhat ashamed.

He looked anywhere but at the irrationally irritated Neji. "I-I know, but…" he stammered, trailing off at the end. He looked over to Sakura, much to my surprise. I'd have thought he'd had a thing for the pretty girl on his team.

… well, then wouldn't it have been just like Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all over again?

Yeah, maybe that wasn't my best idea.

I just shook my head and walked up the stairs and into the Exam Room, mentally preparing myself for the questions that were to come. I'd gone over everything we had learned from Ninja Academy to that which we'd learned from Kakashi-sensei. But honestly, what had we really learned from him? Not too much.

The Exam Room was full of chatter and Genin who were preparing to take the test. I just kept my head down and made my way to my seat. Before I could find my way to my seat, I bumped into something that strangely felt a lot like a brick wall.

Looking up, I saw a silver-haired boy with glasses looking back at me, a pleasant smile on his face. "S-Sorry," I muttered, backing away quickly. He just smiled a little wider.

"It's no problem, I wasn't exactly looking where I was going either," he apologized, that smile still on his face. "Are you here to take the Chunin Exams, too?" I nodded slightly, still slightly intimidated by the taller boy, who looked much older than me. "Oh! Well, then it's nice to meet you! I'm Kabuto Yakushi."

I smiled a bit, fidgeting underneath his gaze. "Um… nice to meet you, Yakushi. My name's Kayuki, Kayuki Akane."

He smiled a moment before taking out a deck of cards. "Let's see… I know that name, I know I do. Ah! There we go!" Kabuto held up one card in particular. It was blank, but writing quickly appeared on it right before my eyes.

"Ah… that's… me."

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Rock Lee… Weird kid.

Might Guy… Even weirder sensei.

Sasuke, with Sakura and Naruto hot on his heels, walked towards the Chunin Exam Room. His adrenaline was pumping faster than ever. He'd met several of his competitors in the Exam. They were all much more powerful than he would ever have imagined.

There was Neji Hyuuga, there was Rock Lee, there was Gaara of the Desert, there was even Naruto Uzumaki.

Heck… even Kayuki Akane was a threat… should she be that much stronger than he knew that she had been.

Kakashi was there to greet them, and boy, did he have some shocking news. "Due to the fact that there's four on this squad in normal times, one of you had to be reassigned to a squad without three Genin."

Naruto, looking almost upset, demanded, "Why?! Who was reassigned?!"

"The team member who isn't with you right now has probably already met her team for this Exam."

So it was Kayuki. She'd been assigned to another squad, even if only for the Chunin Exams. Sasuke frowned; having her against them would definitely be troublesome. To face her would be difficult, much more so than he would usually expect. Who knew what team she'd be on.

As the three Genin entered the Exam Room, Sasuke's eyes scanned the room. There were dozens and dozens of Genin, even though many didn't look like they were rookies.

But it just so happened that Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, and, much to Sasuke's annoyance, Ino Yamanaka were in the Exams, as well. Not to mention Kiba Inuzuka, his dog, Akamaru, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame had also joined them. All ten of the rookie graduates from the Academy were there.

"Hey, you guys!" The group looked over to see Kayuki with a taller, silver-haired man who looked as if he should have become a Jounin by then. The silver-haired man looked somewhat annoyed. Kayuki just looked worried. "You nine look new. You shouldn't make a scene like that. So I recommend piping down."

Ino growled a little. "Who are you to say that?!"

He grinned slightly, standing up straighter. "I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But not that my name matters. What matters is that you nine have made an impression on everyone else."

The group looked around a bit. Kabuto was right; all of the other Genin in the room were staring at the nine rookies like they were fresh meat. Many looked frightening, many looked tough, still others looked both.

"Don't scare them, Kabuto," Kayuki scolded, crossing her arms. Kabuto shrugged and she heaved a sigh. "He's right though. I almost made the same mistake. Because this exam is so stressful, everyone's a lot touchier than they usually would be, including those from other villages."

Kabuto ruffled Kayuki's hair a bit, making Sasuke just that much more wary of the older boy. "That's right, they're only rookies. I guess I was the same way four years ago, when I first took this exam." He looked down at Kayuki, who was poorly attempting to stifle her giggles. "You remind me of me, too, Kayuki."

She burst out laughing at this point. "Nope. You're lying, Kabuto. You took this thing seven times… and each time, I don't get why you didn't pass."

He shrugged. "Six tries and three years later, here I am again. Year four, try number seven. At least I have a good team this time." He reached over and gave Kayuki an affectionate noogie as she protested and attempted to squirm out from under his arm, which was around her in a headlock.

"So…" Naruto began, suddenly looking thoughtful of the words just spoken. "That means that we've got somebody with all the answers! Hey, yeah! Kabuto would do that!"

Shikamaru just scoffed in response. "Yeah, right, you heard him. This is his seventh try and he's never passed the Exam to become a Chunin."

Lifting his hand to rub the back of his head sheepishly, Kabuto put a charming smile on his face. "Well… they say that the seventh time's the charm, huh?" he asked, a nervous laugh in his voice.

Sasuke, who had been silent this entire time, watched as Kayuki elbowed Kabuto, a familiarity and kinship between the two that he'd only seen Kayuki share with two other people; Kakashi Hatake and Neji Hyuuga. Yet she'd known Kakashi for a few months, Neji for whoever knows how long. But Kabuto… Kayuki had known him for perhaps an hour at most.

The handsome silver-haired Genin leaned down to listen to whatever Kayuki had to say. She whispered something in his ear and his face lit up with a small smile. He nodded good-naturedly at her before looking back to the others and clearing his throat.

"But you guys shouldn't give up. I guess I could give you a little bit of help, seeing as you're friends of Kayuki and all." He reached into his belt and pulled out a small deck of cards. "These are my Ninja Info Cards."

There was silence for a moment.

Kayuki giggled. "Basically, Kabuto has info on practically everything he knows. This includes different jutsus and shinobi, too." At that, Sasuke perked up. Now, _now_, he was interested in the information that Kabuto had gathered. "He'll tell you what you need to know."

Kabuto laughed a little bit. "Well, as long as I have the information, I'll do my best to help your friends, Kayuki."

It was then Sasuke stepped forward. Kabuto looked up to him. "I'm looking for a specific candidate in these Exams."

"I'm not going to promise that my information is complete or perfect, but I might have what you're looking for," he answered immediately. Looking up, the older shinobi's glasses glinted. "I have at least one thing on everybody… so long as you've got someone in specifics in mind."

Sasuke's reply was immediate. It was cold, calculating. "I'm looking for information on Gaara of the Desert. I'm looking for Rock Lee. And Kayuki Akane."

He could feel the gazes on his back at questioning his own teammate. The only reaction that he got from Kabuto was a heavy sigh.

The silver-hair complained, "Well, it's not much fun if you know their names… but I guess I can help you there. Too easy. But I'm going to reject that last request for Kayuki Akane. I'm not putting my own teammate at risk."

Sasuke almost growled. Kabuto pulled one card from the deck.

"First up, Rock Lee." The card spun around on the floor as Kabuto forced his chakra to reveal the information written on it. "Rock Lee, one year older than you, which puts him at about thirteen. He's done eleven C-Rank missions and twenty D-Rank missions. He's on a squad led by Might Guy with his two teammates, Tenten and Neji Hyuuga. Within one year, he's excelled in the art known as Taijutsu. However, he's not that great in anything but. Last year, even though he and his team qualified, he did not participate in the Chunin Exam. He's a first year candidate, like the ten of you."

The next card spun the same way the first did. "Now for Gaara of the Desert." Information appeared on the card, same as the first. "I don't have a lot on him, but in terms of missions, he's done eight C-Ranks and… woah. He's done a B-Rank mission and he's only a Genin… and he's gone through every single one of them without a single scratch. He came back to his village completely unharmed…" Kabuto paused. "Other than that… I have practically nothing." He shook his head and put the cards back in his deck. "Sorry that I couldn't be of more help to you."

Now there was a shocker.

A jolt of… what was it? Adrenaline? Fear? Excitement? Maybe a mix of all three… but they crept up Sasuke's spine, chilling him right through to the bone. Finally, there was someone who could provide a challenge.

"Well… you realize that Gaara isn't your only threat," Kayuki pointed out softly, looking around at the rest of the room. "There's shinobi here from all over. There's most from the Leaf, since we're hosting. Sand, Waterfall, Rain, and Sound have all sent some great candidates as well… all of them are insanely strong."

Kabuto nodded. "Yeah. That means that the competition is going to be all the more ferocious. Everyone will be going all out and doing the best they can. No one came here to lose," he added, his voice serious for once. "Out of all four years I've been here… this bunch of Genin are probably the most well suited for this Exam. It'll be a tough competition."

The older silver-haired shinobi stood, putting a hand on Kayuki's shoulder. The two exchanged a knowing look.

"Then let's get ready to take this Exam," she said. The two turned away, but they didn't get very far. Kayuki let out a loud shriek of surprise and fear as a group of three Sound Nin leapt out from the crowd.

One tossed a pair of kunai straight at the two of them. Sasuke moved to react, but Kabuto had already grabbed Kayuki and pulled her out of harm's way. The two landed a few feet back, the smaller girl quickly being pushed behind her temporary teammate.

Another appeared right in front of Kabuto, who let out a small gasp. A shattering of glass was heard as Kabuto dodged punches, continuing to push Kayuki further and further back as he backed up.

As soon as he thought the assault was over… boy was he wrong. Sasuke's smirk fell as Kabuto's glasses shattered, the glass falling from his lenses.

Yet the older shinobi seemed… calm. Like he wasn't even angry at how his glasses were ruined like they were. He just yanked them off and finally seemed to understand.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I frowned a bit; Kabuto's glasses were shattered, which might have given us a slight disadvantage. I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to see during the Exam. That worried me.

"Wait, didn't he dodge! I though I saw him dodge!" Sasuke exclaimed, looking just a bit confused at how Kabuto's glasses were completely shattered when the attack seemed to have missed.

Shikamaru also frowned. "Guess it came closer than it seemed."

I shook my head. "Nope. These ninja are shinobi from the Sound," I began explaining quietly. "They have the ability to create and manipulate different sound waves. That's what broke Kabuto's glasses."

It was then that Kabuto looked up, his eyes going wide. I let out a slight gasp as he collapsed to the ground and leaned forward, retching and hacking. I ran forward, but he threw up an arm. "Stay back, Kayuki!" he rasped. "They're dangerous!"

Shaking my head, I knelt at my temporary teammate's side and put a hand on his back and another on his chest, helping him up. He continued to cough as he tried to assure me that he was okay.

"Kabuto… I'll get someone to help you," I tried to plead with him.

He just shook his head. "No," demanded the silver-haired shinobi. "No, don't waste your time. I'll be fine."

I glared at the Sound Nin, who seemed sickly satisfied with their triumph over the older boy. I stood, growling dangerously, or at least, trying to, and reached for my kunai. Kabuto's hand caught mine. I looked down at him. He just shook his head. I pulled my hand away and continued to glare.

A puff of smoke at the front of the room quickly interrupted the grudge match between Kabuto and me and the three Sound Nin.

"All right, you baby faced degenerates! Sit down and shut up!" Out of the smoke came a group of tough-looking shinobi. The one in the front, who was the one who had spoken, had a pair of scars on his face. "It's time to begin! I'll be your proctor, Ibiki Morino, and, starting right now, I'll also be your worst enemy!"

I helped Kabuto to his feet, my partner still coughing slightly. Ibiki was a frightening person. He demanded no combat between the candidates of the Exam. The entire room did well and listened. Even the Sound Nin backed off, even though they were clearly somewhat reluctant.

"Kabuto, I'll get you your number," I offered quietly. With a grateful nod and a small smile, Kabuto handed over his paperwork and hobbled off to lean against the wall until I returned.

I faintly heard Naruto's yells of anguish behind me, reminding me that the other boy absolutely hated these types of exams. I heaved a sigh. Perhaps Naruto was doomed to failure. He had been in the Ninja Academy, as much as I hated to admit it.

Not five minutes later, everyone was seated. I looked over to Kabuto, fidgeting a bit. My teammate gave me a small smile and a thumbs up. I just grinned weakly.

The room was eerily silent.

I focused forward. There were only a few rules from the proctor. First off, the scoring was a reduction system. We'd start off with ten points. For each question wrong, we'd lose a point. Secondly, the teams of three would be scored _together_. Should one person on a team fail the exam… that would mean it was curtains for the rest of the three-man squad.

Biting my lip, I looked up to Kabuto. He just grinned again, a reassuring grin. He was trying to tell me that I'd do fine… and that he had faith that I would help him and his other teammate get through safely.

The third rule was quite clear; no cheating. If anyone was caught cheating, first, two points would be lost from the test score. Once someone was caught cheating five times, they'd be thrown out.

That just meant… don't get caught.

I grinned; now information gathering, I could do. And Kabuto was sure to have all the answers. I doubted he would mind; he was my teammate, after all.

We had one hour. Our time started ticking away.

My eyes scanned over the ten questions on the test. All of them looked far to hard for me; I didn't even know most of the information on the test. Looking around warily, I immediately put my hands together and began making subtle hand symbols.

A small, shadowy animal, a raccoon crawled out of the shadows near Kabuto.

**=Yakushi Kabuto=**

His eyes flickered to the raccoon that was crawling towards him, seemingly unnoticed by the shinobi sitting at the sides of the room. He grinned slightly; it seemed that Kayuki had also caught onto the trick that Ibiki was playing on the candidates of the Chunin Exams.

The raccoon crawled onto his lap and nudged his leg. Kabuto, in response, scribbled down all of the answers from his prior knowledge. He muttered the answers, just loud enough for the raccoon to perk its ears in acknowledgement of the words Kabuto had whispered. The raccoon quickly disappeared in a small puff of shadows.

Kabuto looked up; of course, there was Kayuki a few rows ahead of him, already scribbling down the answers, quick as she could. He grinned a bit. She would be just fine, and their other teammate already knew the answers, that was sure.

Time was ticking down once more, the hands on the clock moving faster and faster as the time kept ticking down.

One by one, three by three, shinobi were eliminated and they took their teammates with them. Kabuto slowly counted thirteen, fourteen, fifteen… sixteen teams in only a few minutes.

Kabuto, however, was keeping his cool. He looked towards Kayuki, who was sitting quietly, looking as if there wasn't a care in the world. But he noticed her eyes turn towards someone in the row behind her.

He smirked; she was passing on the answers to someone else, slowly but surely helping her friends.

She made a few motions with her pencil, twirling it as if in boredom. Kabuto's gaze flickered towards who she was motioning to. He recognized the boy, even from behind him. His name was Neji Hyuuga, age thirteen. He was on the team with Rock Lee and Tenten… and he was a holder of the kekkei genkai known as the Byakugan.

He suddenly saw the younger boy scribbling down answers and grinned slightly. It looked like those two had planned that from the start.

Suddenly, there was fifteen minutes left.

That was when the tenth question would be announced. Kabuto looked over to Kayuki. She wasn't at all nervous. She knew that he would know it and that he wouldn't let her fail.

Then, there was the ultimate curveball.

Each and every shinobi had a choice with question ten. Should they choose to stay and answer the question, they had to get it right. If they failed to answer the question and get it right, the entire team would be disqualified and would never be able to return to the Chunin Exams.

But they could also leave and decide not to answer the final question. If anyone chose the second choice, not to take the question, it would be an automatic zero. Which would mean a failure for the rest of the team.

Kabuto was thrown for a loop. His hand shook a little.

This was a risk he couldn't afford.

His eyes landed on Kayuki. Her façade suddenly flickered and vanished. She was shaking, too. He bit his lip and tapped his desk five times.

She looked up and looked back slightly. He nodded slightly. She bit her lip and looked forward. Her hand was twitching. She was ready to quit. He bit his lip as well. Teams were already falling, leaving the exam.

Hands continued to raise. Teams continued to leave. Kayuki's twitching slowly got worse. But she clearly wasn't ready to quit. She wouldn't do that, hopefully.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

He was just waiting for Naruto to quit. But Naruto's hand never raised. Sasuke then looked to Kayuki. Her expression was fearful, clearly torn between quitting and answering. But he knew that she was terrified of what was going to happen should she get the question wrong.

Looking down at his test, he realized how much she'd lose should she choose to quit. But he also knew that she'd lose much more if she answered wrong. She wanted to be able to prove people wrong and show how strong she really was.

So her hand never raised.

But it was Naruto's hand that raised.

Everyone was clearly in shock at that moment. The stubborn ninja, the number one, hyperactive shinobi… was quitting.

Sasuke quickly understood. Naruto didn't want to let them down… and he didn't want to lose his dream, either.

But that was wrong, and Naruto proved that. His palm landed on the table as he jumped up. "Don't underestimate me!" shouted the blond, suddenly looking up with a fire in his eyes. "I don't quit, and I don't run! Act tough all you want, but I'll never quit! No way! Even if I get stuck as a Genin forever, you can bet I'll be Hokage someday, believe it!"

Sasuke let a soft smirk over his face. _Idiot. But at least he's not quitting. That would just make it much worse. He knows nothing, but he'll go for it. That's some courage._

He also looked over to Kayuki. Suddenly, her hand was no longer twitching… and no one else raised their hand either.

Ibiki grinned a little. "One thing left, I suppose. That's for me to say…" Sasuke gripped his pencil, preparing for the next question, one that would change their fates… forever. "Congratulations! You've all passed the first exam!"

Sasuke grinned once more. Although he didn't understand… they were moving on.

* * *

**I know I fail. But I won. ;w; I WON FOR NANOWRIMO. AND GUESS WHAT SUCKAS. I USED THIS STORY. I WON I WON I WON I WON.**

**So in gratitude for you guys supporting me... I'm updating this! It's one of my favorite chapters. Anddddddd... I'm also beginning an AU story based off of RENT, for Lost in the Dark! I'm so excited for this one, because I think it's fabulous. I love RENT, and I love Naruto. So... yeah, I'll be updating that after I get it all set up straight. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!  
**

**REVIEWWW~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Naruto: Lost in the Dark  
Mission 4: fight or flight**

* * *

So that was the test. The nine questions on the paper were testing our ability to collect information without getting caught. Great for spying missions, and we all passed. There were two Chunin hidden with the Genin, and we'd had to gather their answers without figuring it out.

During an information gathering mission, being caught when collecting information would be death. If someone was cheating and caught, that meant that they would put their team at risk during a real mission.

Of course, Kabuto was to thank for my answers.

The "tenth question" was questioning our ability to make difficult decisions in the face of a no-win situation. It was our test to decide whether or not we would worry about our own lives over the lives of our teammates.

I looked up at Kabuto and grinned widely, my pride in myself clear in my smile. He smiled back, his gaze warm and reassuring. He gave me another thumbs up and I had to smile at him again.

As the window shattered, I looked to the front of the room, where there was a woman standing in front of a maroon cloth banner. I blinked at her sudden appearance.

"Heads up, ladies and gents! I'm your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi! Anyone who's ready, let's go, follow me!"

Everyone just stared.

Ibiki's head poked out from behind the banner. "You're early once again, Anko." Her face went flat as her cheeks turned a bit red.

She took a look around the classroom. "Woah. Ibiki, you let all these kids pass? You must be going soft if everyone here got past you. Just how many are there?" she demanded, glaring at the scarred man.

He shrugged. "Maybe they're just stronger than usual."

Anko pursed her lips. "Nah. They don't look strong at all." She smirked suddenly. "Well, when I'm done with them, there'll be less than half of these maggots left. Believe me, I'll put them through the mill."

I glared a little and clenched my fists. I was prepared for anything she decided to throw at me.

At least… I was prepared mentally.

The next morning would be the most challenging morning of the Chunin Exams.

**=Yakushi Kabuto=**

Phase two of the Exam was simple. At least, for Kabuto, it seemed to be. Survive five days in a place known as the Forest of Death. Get two different scrolls, the Earth Scroll and the Heaven Scroll, and fight to survive.

He stood next to Kayuki, who looked fearful, but determined as she filled out her consent form to take the second part of the Exam, which indicated that the Genin acknowledged the risk in taking the Exam. He tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and grinned a little, attempting to silently reassure him that she would be okay.

Taking this as a promise, he nodded and turned away, focusing once more on the Chunin Exams.

All twenty-six of the teams taking the Exam were set up at one of the forty-four gates which led into the forty-fourth, preparing to head into the Forest of Death and start the second part of the Chunin Exams.

It was a test of complete survival.

Kabuto was prepared. He knew that he'd have to continue containing his skills if he wanted to continue being there.

But he wouldn't last forever.

He might as well have enjoyed it as long as he could. He was, after all, completing his mission in watching over Kayuki. He didn't know why he'd been asked to look after a specific girl. But as soon as he met her, he knew something was different about her. Something had set her apart from the others taking the Exams.

"Kabuto. Should we hand in our consent forms?" she asked, looking up at him with her dark eyes.

Kabuto nodded slightly, leading her and his other teammate, Yoroi Akado, over to the stand. The team of three Leaf Genin walked over to receive their scroll and gate. Their gate number was number 38.

As soon as the gate opened and the Exam began, Kabuto, Kayuki, and Yoroi dashed forward, preparing with everything they had. They knew what they had to do. All of them were just looking for somewhere safe so far.

The three of them were preparing to take down who they could. Kabuto knew enough to know what to avoid in the Forest of Death. It was all up to chance after they knew this.

As they landed, Kayuki looked over to Kabuto and asked, "Should we see our scroll now?" Kabuto nodded a little and reached into his bag, reaching for their team's scroll. His hand stopped and he smirked a bit.

"Heads up, Kayuki. We've got company."

Her head snapped up. She stood up straight. "Gotcha. I'll take this one, Kabuto. Leave them to me." She began to make several different hand signs, using symbols for a wind jutsu. She leapt into the air and spun, flinging Kunai all around the small clearing around where they had stopped.

Out of the bushes leapt one of the few Sand Nin left in the Exams, thankfully not one of the three Sand Siblings or Kabuto would have had to use his full power. He watched as she summoned her Cloud Dragon, smirking.

She kept finding ways to surprise him.

The Dragon wrapped itself around the Sand Nin, squeezing him tight. The shinobi let out a gut-wrenching scream, yelling in pain. She quickly moved her hand, having the Dragon throw the other shinobi into a tree.

Kabuto turned. "She'll be fine. But Yoroi… I'm leaving you here. I'm taking her and bringing her to find the rest of her friends." The silent shinobi nodded. "You need to rest up for your match… when we get out of this crap."

In a flash of speed, Kayuki returned, a small slash on her arm. Blood trickled down to her hand as she knelt on the ground, panting a little. "Wrong scroll. I had the roots of the tree tie him up."

For some reason, Kabuto wasn't surprised that Kayuki didn't finish him off, kill him, when she had the chance. "Good job, though. You took him down on your own!" he cheered softly.

She looked proud of herself. "Thanks. I think I felt myself getting stronger, too."

"Yeah, your speed is a lot better, but it seems like you're still a little weaker than most in terms of your physical strength." At this, she looked put out. "Ah, but that's nothing we can't fix with five days in this place."

With a frown, Kayuki replied, "I'm not sure how long we'll last here. I think we should just find that scroll and get out of here."

Kabuto smiled a little and patted her head. "Yeah, but wouldn't that be too easy? Besides, this way we can make sure that you're strong enough for the third part of the Exams." Sighing, Kayuki submitted to his reasoning.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

He nearly groaned at the pain in his leg. It was a dumb move, stabbing himself in the leg so he could force himself to move and get Sakura away from that Grass kunoichi without them getting too hurt.

After a moment of sheer pain, Sasuke ripped the kunai from his thigh, letting it fall from his grip. Blood dripped from his leg. He placed his hand over Sakura's mouth, keeping her from speaking unnecessarily and getting them both murdered by that insane Grass Nin.

He was so deep in his fear that he didn't even notice the giant snake behind him.

Sasuke barely had time to dodge as the snake bit down on the tree, coming after him with vicious eyes. "Get away from me!" he yelled furiously, tossing several shuriken into its head.

But even though it was dead, from its skin came that Grass kunoichi.

He was terrified. That woman knew how to play games with his mind. Sasuke, for once, didn't know what to do. He was actually scared. As the woman slithered up the tree he was in, a crazed laugh coming from her mouth, Sasuke let out a scream.

There wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't even bring himself to move.

But something stopped her. Four shuriken and a kunai were embedded in the tree in front of her.

"As I said, the hero always arrives late!" Sasuke turned to see the orange clad shinobi a few trees away from him. "Oh, yeah! Uh, what was that stupid password again?!"

For once, Sasuke was glad to see his greatest rival. Maybe it was the desperation of the situation, but he knew Naruto's unpredictability might just have been their greatest ally in the current situation. Even so… he couldn't risk it. Not a chance Sasuke would just let him die.

He managed a pained, twisted grimace. "Naruto, leave! She's dangerous, you don't have a chance! Run while you still can!" But Naruto made no move to leave. He just yelled at the Grass kunoichi, telling _her_ to leave while _she_ still could. It was dumb, and Sasuke knew it.

He knew that there was no other choice. "Here. Take it." He pulled out their scroll, the Heaven Scroll. "If you want the scroll, you can have it! Just take it and leave us alone!"

Sasuke was sure that they were questioning his sanity.

"Hey, what're you doing?!" Naruto yelled. "You're insane! What're you thinking, just handing the scroll over?!"

Whirling around in complete anger, Sasuke snapped, "Shut up and stay out of this!" He knew what he was doing. He was the only one who knew he was.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I jumped back once more and brandished my kunai again. "Man… this is painful," I complained, grabbing at my arm, where a gash was lain into my skin. Kabuto leapt in front of me with his own kunai.

"Don't get distracted," he ordered, his voice soft but gentle. "Please be careful, Kayuki. I can't let you be injured." I nodded and made several more hand signs, once again relying solely on my chakra and my mother's jutsus.

_Fox Fire Jutsu._

The fiery fox appeared between my hands and leapt forward, through the air. The fox landed on our opponent's clothing, swirling around him in a vortex of fire. It was at this point that he started to scream. I panted again, holding my arm once more in pain. Blood trickled from my arm.

Kabuto grabbed my arm gently as I winced in pain. "It looks like this hurts. I have to make sure it's not infected. Let me stitch that up before you really get hurt." I just nodded in reply.

We sat in silence as Kabuto's needle pierced my skin, stitching up my wound before I could truly get hurt and infected. "Ouch," I muttered as he pulled just a little too hard on the thread.

"Sorry," he muttered an apology, biting down on the thread and tying a knot in the stitches. "Alright, I'm done. It's not infected, just be careful." I nodded again, tears welling up in my eyes. Kabuto frowned a bit. "Hey, c'mon. Don't cry, you did great."

I shook my head. "It's annoying… my weakness." The frown on his face was pulled a bit deeper. "I'm just a nuisance to you and I know it. I can't do much on my own. We were attacked by one shinobi, and I got hurt taking him down. But then it was two on two, and I still failed you…" Tears started leaking from my eyes. "I'm sorry…"

Two hands placed themselves on my shaking shoulders. "No, Kayuki. It's not your fault at all, I promise you. You're strong, stronger than most Genin." He tapped the symbol on the headband that was tied around my arm. "You see this? You earned this because you're strong."

For some reason, Kabuto's words made me feel… better. Not completely better, but I felt like I needed to stop crying over my own self-pity. Letting out a small laugh, my vision began clearing again. "I should know that, I don't know why I'm still crying," I admitted, rubbing the tears from my face.

Kabuto gave a slight smile. "You're a great kunoichi. How about this? When we get out of here and prepare for the third and final part of the exam, I'll train you the best I can, okay?"

I nodded slightly. "Promise?" I asked, my voice small and weak.

Childishly sticking out my pinky, I extended it towards him. He just chuckled a bit and linked his pinky with my own. "I promise." He stood, pulling me up with him.

It was then that a scream rang out through the forest. My eyes went wide. "That… sounds like Sasuke!" I exclaimed, suddenly worried. "We have to find them, please! They… they're…"

"Your friends. I know. Let's go."

Grasping my hand once again, he led me through the forest. I watched as he led me through the trees, his face determined and stony as he continued to leap through the forest.

**=Orochimaru=**

As a familiar voice reached his ears, Orochimaru opened his eyes, a sick grin widening over the melting face of the Grass Nin. "Hello there, Anko. It's been too long, dear."

His former student stepped forward. "Skip the small talk! You're an S-Class criminal now, and you're wanted all over! It's time for you to be taken down! I suppose it's fitting that it's me!" He saw the needles appear in her hand. "After all, it was you who taught me everything."

The snake Sannin's grin widened exponentially. "Well… not everything." Before Anko could even make a move, his snake-like tongue was already attacking. Even though she managed to dodge, it followed her, dragging her down once more.

Even as it had a hold of her, she yelled, "Striking Shadow Snake!"

He didn't feel any pain as the snakes she controlled took a hold of him, pulling him from his sanctuary. She slammed him up against the tree behind her, pinning him with one hand as she prepared to end it with the other.

"You're finished," she concluded wearily. "Now, if you don't mind, give me your left hand…"

His eyes widened. "That… that is…"

She nodded, a wary grin on her face. "It's over. You and I are dying here, together." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Orochimaru just laughed, although the laugh seemed to come from all over. "But Anko, you'll die here alone." From behind her, Orochimaru stood, ripping off the rest of the Grass kunoichi's face. "That's correct, simple substitution."

As the fake Orochimaru melted, Anko shook in defeat. She yanked her kunai from the tree bark, turning and tossing it. It only took him two fingers to catch it.

"That's not going to work." He froze her in her tracks and dropped her kunai.

She looked up as he advanced. "Why… why are you here?" she panted, a glare that might have put down one of the Genin taking the Exam aimed at him. Orochimaru just laughed.

He grinned, baring his fangs. "Why Anko, I'm disappointed. I expected… a warmer welcome after all those long years apart."

Almost immediately, she jumped to a simple, obvious conclusion. "Don't tell me… you're here to assassinate Lord Hokage, aren't you." It wasn't a question. Once again, he laughed.

Shaking his head, the Sannin replied, "No. Not just yet, anyways. I have far too few followers for that. But this village has had its good points, and I've heard many good things… so I thought I'd take it for myself."

**=Akane Kayuki=**

Yoroi had been left alone, in hiding. We'd been moving for hours now, but the screams of pain had stopped. We had no way of tracking the rest of my team. I knew that something bad must've happened. I frowned, somewhat frightened of what had happened.

"Kabuto… we should stop for a while, take a break," I muttered. He looked at me, eyes somewhat widened. "I know, I know, it's my team. But I can't risk you, too…"

He frowned, but nodded reluctantly. "But it's…" I shook my head. "… very well, Kayuki. I'll do my best to make sure that we get to your friends." I nodded once more.

**=Yakushi Kabuto=**

Kabuto was sure that Kayuki hadn't gotten much sleep. The worry had most likely kept her awake. But what he didn't expect was for her to have left after he'd fallen fast asleep that night, but had yet to come back, even at daybreak.

He frowned as he saw the empty spot she'd been only hours before.

Running a hand through his hair, Kabuto sighed in complete exasperation. Her personality was to sacrifice herself for those she trusted. He was just glad he was on that list. But she could've woken him instead of just fleeing.

"… idiot girl…"

**=Akane Kayuki=**

After hours and hours of running through the dark woods, I finally found the rest of my team. I'd been looking for them all night, and there they were. At daybreak, I found my friends.

I saw Sasuke and Naruto, unconscious on the floor. I saw Sakura, sleeping soundly while sitting up. Frowning, I kept hidden, just in case there were hidden shinobi that I wasn't yet aware of.

They would make their presences soon, I knew it.

I also was sure that Sakura had been taking care of Sasuke and Naruto all night. She must've been worried about them. But she had to sleep, too. I couldn't blame her for succumbing to her weariness.

Sakura was the first up, gasping for air, as if she'd been dreaming a nightmare. Some rustling in the bushes below me caught both of our attention. She drew her kunai. It was only a squirrel though, but I swear that I saw something else.

There was a paper bomb attached to the squirrel.

My eyes narrowed; there was definitely something else going on there.

**=Hyuuga Neji=**

He wasn't looking for trouble.

He found it though, in the form of three rookies. There was Chouji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka. He just walked away though. He'd actually been looking for Kayuki.

Neji remembered seeing her with her mysterious teammates, but he needed to find her, just in case.

He stopped walking as he saw something behind him. "If you raised your fist at me… I suppose that means that you want to fight." He heard several protests from behind him. He growled a little and continued to walk away as they fled.

_… fools._

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I frowned as the three Sound Nin, the ones who had given Kabuto a tough time right before the first Exam, appeared before Sakura, who was still dazed. I growled and jumped down next to her.

"Sakura. I'm here," I muttered. Her arms were bruised, but at the sound of my voice, she looked relieved. "Focus on protecting Sasuke and Naruto. I'll try and keep them distracted for as long as I can."

A frown overtook her face as worry sparkled in her eyes. "… Kayuki…"

I shook my head and sent a small glare at her. "Don't argue with me. I'm the least hurt of all of you right now."

"But you'll…!"

Drawing my kunai, I smirked a little. "Don't you worry about me, Sakura. I can handle myself… and I'll never let these creeps near you, Naruto, or Sasuke."

I was sure I sounded a lot more confident than I felt. I remembered Kabuto's words to me the day before. My strength at that moment came from those words. They echoed in my mind as I pulled my own strength from them. I was strong… and I'd earned my headband.

Kunai in one hand, I made several hand signs. "Diamond Mist Jutsu." A cover of thick mist enshrouded the area around the seven of us. I grinned as they jumped towards us, but a new voice beat me to another jutsu.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Jumping from the trees came Rock Lee. I grinned a little; he was one of Neji's friends.

With a broad smile, I stood next to Lee in the mist. "Hey, Lee." He looked towards me a little. "Listen. I'm trying to protect Sakura, just like you." He turned a little red from embarrassment. "So help me out here. I can't take them by myself," I admitted, knowing it was true.

"You are… Neji's friend, are you not, young lady?" he wondered aloud, not moving from his defensive position. I just nodded, making discreet hand signs again. "Then I shall help you. Neji would be very unhappy if I made a foolish decision."

I grinned once more, narrowing my eyes at the three enemies.

Looking back at Sakura, I ordered, "Don't get up. You can't fight right now." My wolf appeared next to me, fading in from the mist around us, the mist swirling into the form of him. He growled. "Hey." The wolf looked up. "Let's take care of these morons once and for all."

I leapt forward, kunai in hand. I knew I didn't stand a chance in terms of physical strength, but I also knew that I had to do something else. The mist wolf quickly swirled around the second shinobi, I think his name was Zaku, and obscured his vision. I grinned and tossed the kunai before leaping back.

The kunai slashed his leg and he let out a small shriek of pain. I grinned a little, but it soon turned to a frown. With both of us fighting to protect the three incapacitated ninja of Team 7, we didn't exactly stand a chance. I knew I had to fight to protect them… but I also had to get someone to help us.

There was only one person I knew that I could count on at this moment.

I began making more hand signs as Lee unwrapped the bandages around his arms. "Flower Beetle Jutsu!"

**=Hyuuga Neji=**

As he ran through the forest, his eyes caught everything.

One thing he caught made him stop. His eyes widened as he noticed the small, red flower blossoming only a few feet away from him. "Tenten." She stopped as well as he knelt in front of the flower.

From the blossoming flower came a small beetle, which began to duplicate itself as the pollen of the flower spread. Neji frowned; he realized that it was one of Kayuki's jutsus. Red… meant danger.

The beetles continued to move around on the ground in front of him. They moved until they spelled out a message.

_HELP._

Neji growled a little. The beetles then rearranged themselves into a second word.

_LEE._

This only made his frown grow deeper as the beetles moved once again.

_SOUND._

From this, Neji put together the three words. He knew that she was in danger. He knew that Lee was with her. And he knew that the Sound Nin were attacking the two of them.

Looking down once more, there was one more word that the beetles formed.

_TEAM 7._

From this, Neji gathered one more bit of vital information. He gathered that Team 7 was in the midst of this danger… with Kayuki.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I let out a loud scream as I was hurled into a tree. I slid down the trunk and panted as Zaku stood over me, a threatening grin on his face. Wiping the blood from my face, I chuckled dryly.

"So… that's all she wrote, huh?" I spat wryly.

He grinned more. "You bet."

I looked over to where Lee was. He was completely on his knees, the sound waves that the sound nin were emitting were already affecting him. I frowned. At this rate… Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were as good as dead. I had nothing left… my arm was bleeding again, worse this time.

With my other arm, I lifted my kunai again and tossed it at the back of Dosu's head. He just leaned to the side to dodge it.

Zaku turned back towards me and used his own sound waves. I could feel the vibrations running through my body and I let out a scream. My scream echoed through the forest as the waves caused my body to react in such a way that I never knew I could.

My eyes started crying blood.

I fell to my knees once more before there was nothing.

**=Haruno Sakura=**

As the kunai ripped through her hair, Sakura realized just how… pathetic… she had truly been all that time. She'd claimed that she loved Sasuke, she'd continuously lectured and scolded Naruto, and she'd pushed Kayuki away at first.

But Sasuke, Naruto, and Kayuki were always ahead of her in leaps and bounds in terms of their ninja training. Even when any of them were knocked down, they refused to give up and give in.

They were always protecting each other… and protecting her. Even though Sakura had never done anything to help them, they'd risked everything to protect her on more than one occasion.

And of course, then there was Lee. Sakura thought of him more tenderly… He barely knew her. He'd known her for only two days now… but even so, that didn't keep him from risking his life to protect her.

Now he was lying on the ground, injured and bleeding. All because he gave up everything for her. He'd nearly killed himself to keep his promise of giving his life in order to protect her.

It was her turn to protect all of them.

No longer was she Sakura Haruno, the kunoichi in the background. She was Sakura Haruno, the kunoichi in the front lines.

She wasn't going to hide behind them anymore. She didn't want to ever watch them get hurt again. That just meant that she'd have to become strong enough to protect them, too.

It'd be a long, tiring road… but it'd be worth it.

Her long hair had been something she took pride in for the longest time. She'd started to grow it out several years ago because she thought that Sasuke liked girls with long hair. It'd made her pretty. But being pretty and being strong just didn't go together.

At this point, she didn't care about anything else… all she wanted to do was make sure that the people she cared about, the people that made a point of caring about her… she wanted to make sure that they were safe.

She was all that was left.

**=Hyuuga Neji=**

When Neji and Tenten arrived on the scene, Neji first noticed the girl with long, dark hair lying unconscious on the ground. She was covered in blood and bruised all over. Something snapped in Neji's mind.

"Well. Not only did you make a punching bag out of our teammate, but you hurt someone very important to me."

It was clear how angry Neji was as he prepared to attack. But he frowned and instead leapt down to where Kayuki was still out cold. He gathered her in his arms, holding her crumpled form to his chest and squeezing her hand.

He stroked her hair and muttered, "They'll pay for doing this to you."

At that very moment, Sasuke awoke, standing dangerously. His chakra was out of control, almost frightening. Even Sakura was scared of him, hiding from his angry form.

He stood over Sakura for a moment, exchanging words that Neji couldn't hear. The only recognizable feature about him was his crazed Sharingan eyes. The rest of his body was covered in tattoos that looked like they belonged in a cult book.

Immediately afterward, Sasuke appeared before Neji, who immediately shielded Kayuki out of instinct. "I'm not going to hurt her. I just want to see… what they did to her… and how much I pain I have to pay them back for."

These words made Neji look up and shift a bit, Kayuki beginning to rise from her pained state. Her eyes opened slowly.

Sasuke stared down for a moment. "Kayuki…"

"Sasuke…" Her eyes were fixed on him and her voice was raspy. Tears welled up in her eyes, quicker than Neji had seen before. "I… I'm sorry. I failed you again… I'm so sorry…"

A hand landed on her forehead. "Stupid." Sasuke had knelt in front of her. "I'll kill them for hurting you."

Sasuke stood, his attention focused now on the three Sound Nin, all three of them staring at the swirling mass of chakra that was once Sasuke Uchiha. The marks spread even further on his body and his power grew even more. He was powerful beyond anyone's belief.

Even Neji was forced to flinch at Sasuke's power.

Kayuki's head turned toward Sasuke. She just watched as he practically began to rip the Sound Nin apart, injuring them with everything he had. His speed, his power, and his thirst to kill… they'd all been increased tenfold.

Her eyes widened as she was forced to watch Sasuke torture his opponent, toying with him, but not bothering to kill him. Kayuki staggered to her feet as Sasuke moved forward threateningly.

Sakura was completely frozen. Neji attempted to hold Kayuki back. She just shrugged him off.

She moved forward, still moving a bit unstably due to her injuries. But she stopped right in front of Sasuke. He stopped as well, his chakra slowing down, even as it swirled around him. The two stared at one another for a moment.

Kayuki made her move first, moving forward. She pushed through the dark chakra and stopped again, this time only inches away from Sasuke. Her next move was so simple, yet so intimate. She leaned forward slowly, her forehead landing on Sasuke's shoulder as she fell.

Sasuke's arms wrapped around her to keep her from collapsing even further. He knelt down, taking her with him. The black marks that had appeared all over his skin suddenly faded away, his chakra slowing to a halt until Neji saw that he was once again the Sasuke Uchiha that he'd met in the Exam Hall.

A soft look was etched on Sasuke's pale face as he stared down at Kayuki's sleeping form. "You're hurt so badly, but you keep me from losing myself and killing them…" he muttered. "Thank you."

Kayuki didn't move and Sasuke frowned a bit. She was out cold again.

It was at this point that Neji stood and knelt beside the two. "I'll take her if you want to finish killing them," he said quietly, disregarding what he had said only moments before.

Sasuke just shook his head, not looking up at Neji. "No. She wanted me to stop. I'll leave them alone for now." That was his only reply before picking up Kayuki and walking off.

Neji's eyes narrowed as he watched the black-haired boy walk away with his best friend limp in the younger boy's arms. He didn't like how the boy had looked at her, not at all. Neji knew, at that moment, that Sasuke Uchiha would be trouble in the future, especially for Kayuki.

He'd die before Sasuke hurt her.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

My eyes opened slowly to see a worried-looking Sakura leaning over me. Her face softened to a relieved look and she looked over her shoulder before calling, "She's awake, guys! Kayuki's awake!"

I tried sitting up, but my shoulder throbbed in pain. Letting out a small cry of pain, I grasped at my shoulder, moving my arm which was injured. I just wanted to keep crying from pain. It hurt all over.

A hand was placed on my back and my stomach, their touch gentle. "Hey, don't push yourself, you got really badly hurt," a familiar voice ordered, pushing me back down and forcing me to lay on my back once more. I pushed past the pain to open my eyes and I saw Neji, a small, relieved smile on his face.

"Neji… you're alive, too," I rasped, moving my hand slowly to grab his. He squeezed my hand lightly, his smile growing a bit wider. "I'm glad… that you're okay…" I moved my head slowly, looking around a little. "How about… everyone else? Sasuke…? Lee…?"

Neji frowned a little. "Lee needs a little time to recover. But he'll be okay. I think that he and Sakura might have a little thing going for them, you know." He grinned slightly. "I thought that the girl had a crush on Sasuke, but after what happened between you and him… well, I guess she kind of felt the need to give up."

I frowned, a little confused. "Eh?"

"You managed to stop Sasuke… and his face when you did… he looked as if he was happy… you know, that it was you." Neji's face was somewhat serious as he did so. I frowned even more.

My head turned to look at the cave ceiling. "Can you please bring Sakura in here?" I asked quietly, my voice still raspy. Although he frowned a little, Neji nodded and stood, leaving the cave.

Only moments later, Sakura appeared next to me, looking happier and more alive than I'd ever seen her. "Hey, Kayuki. I'm glad you're awake," she said. Her voice sounded sincere, for one of the only times that I'd ever heard such sincerity in her voice when she talked to me. "What did you want to speak to me about?"

I didn't want to beat around the bush. "You didn't give up on being in love with Sasuke because of me, did you?" Sakura's eyes went wide. "I… Neji just told me… that you… seem to have done so."

She looked down and fidgeted for a moment.

"I… I should've given up long before that. Sasuke would never fall in love with me, and I know it." Her eyes were no longer trained on me, but on the ground below where she knelt. "I'm weak, and I know how weak I am. You're so much… stronger." She smiled weakly. "Sasuke pays special attention to you. You know, there's this quote… and I decided to take it to heart."

I frowned a little before reciting the quote I thought she was talking about. "If you love someone, let them leave. If they come back, then they're truly yours."

She nodded slightly, finally looking up with a slightly teary smile. "I'm letting him leave. And I… I don't really want him to come back. He cares about you a lot." She smiled a little bit. "Just do me one favor, okay, Kayuki?"

Nodding, I replied, "Sure. What would you have me do?"

"Don't… don't hurt him, okay?" she requested.

I smiled a little. "You know… I don't like Sasuke in a romantic way. At least, I don't think I do. But if I ever did, and if you're right that he cares about me in that way… I would never hurt him."

Looking satisfied, Sakura smiled again. "Thank you."

Reaching over, I grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "Sakura. He cares about you, too. Maybe not in the way you want, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care about you at all." Her eyes widened a bit.

"I… you're right." Her smile grew wider, more relaxed. "Thank you again, Kayuki. And I'm sorry that I treated you so terribly a long time ago."

"As you said, it was a long time ago," I replied, relaxing as well. "It's fine, Sakura. I don't blame you at all."

Sakura pulled her hand from my grasp and rested the back of her hand on my forehead. "You feel a lot better. I think you'll be okay by tomorrow, but you won't be able to push yourself like you did." She paused, pulling her hand back. "Oh… by the way, thank you. You didn't have to risk your life like that for me… but you did."

Shaking my head once more, I gave a weak smile. "Sakura. You're my teammate. You shouldn't worry about that. I'll always be ready to sacrifice anything for any of my friends."

Her eyes widened a bit, but she quickly fell into a smile. "You're… amazing."

"No… I'm just a kunoichi."

* * *

**-cocking of a million guns by the hoards of SasuSaku fangirls-**

**WAIT DON'T SHOOT LET ME EXPLAIN BEFORE YOU SHOOT ME.**

**-...-**

**I had Sakura give up. Yes. Don't shoot! Wait, hold your fire! So Sakura gave up because 1) for plot reasons -and plot reasons alone- I have her paired up with Lee and 2) Sakura and Kayuki have technically been rivals for a while now, and although Sakura's rivalries are settled within the Chunin Exams, I wanted this one over with much sooner.**

**... is she OOC? Maybe she is...**

**Ah, but although she's backed down against Kayuki for the _true_ affections of Sasuke, she hasn't given up on flirting with him. The flirtation between Sakura and Sasuke (although he doesn't exactly flirt back) will continue. And not much more will be changed in terms of the SasuSaku relationship. But I don't hate Sakura. She and Kayuki have one of the main relationships of Lost in the Dark that makes this fic.**

**The Sakura/Lee thing is more or less my inner fangirl. I like the pairing because I think how Lee is willing to give up everything for Sakura, especially when he doesn't really know her, is just so sweet. Although Sakura is, at first, repulsed by his look, I'm going to have her become more attached to him as he helps her pick up the pieces of her shattered self once certain events transpire. I always thought that Lee was too good a person for Sakura, but I learned to like Sakura much more than I thought I would. So Lee and Sakura will become a "thing."**

**Sakura vs. Kayuki was another relationship I wanted to touch base on here. Sakura and Kayuki have never _hated_ each other. In fact, Kayuki is too much of a pushover to hate anyone in general. Although she shows signs of hating someone here... But she never hated Sakura, and Sakura never hated her. Sakura didn't like Kayuki. Mostly because Kayuki was put on the team with Sasuke, so Sakura considered her a threat. Plus, Kayuki's weird, and weird is shunned when they're at this age.**

**Hope you enjoyed, please continue reading!**

**Oh! Shout out to "Miss Luny," who sent me the nicest PM. Thanks sweetie, I updated because that PM inspired me to keep going!**

**Reviews are welcomed!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Naruto: Lost in the Dark  
Mission 5: we want war**

* * *

The next day, just like Sakura said, I felt well enough to move around. I just couldn't fight using kunai or shuriken or move myself too fast, or I'd reopen my wounds. Not that I minded, I could always just use my jutsus to fight and protect myself.

Of course, things seemed to be back to normal. Over the next three days, Naruto and Sasuke were at it again, fighting and bickering. Sakura and I were breaking them up, with not much actually getting done.

But there were a few things that changed.

Sakura and I were actually becoming closer. We were more like best friends now than anything. We'd both kept what we said to each other hidden from the boys, and we were now closer than ever. She and I mostly did the chores, like cooking and cleaning and bandaging up the boys.

We talked about stupid things when they weren't around. She told me about her and Ino, I told her about my friendship with Neji. We talked about boys, hair, makeup, and other things. For once, I felt like a girl, not just a ninja or a child.

Of course, all that came crashing down when the fourth day of the second part of the Exam came around. My teammates still hadn't found me, and I couldn't get back to them yet in risk of being injured even further than I had been.

So it wasn't looking too good for either of our teams.

I stayed silent as Sasuke held up their Earth scroll. I frowned a little when I realized that they'd received that scroll from the Sound Nin. Didn't that mean that they could move on?

"Sasuke." He looked up to me. "Don't you guys have two scrolls now? You could've already gone to the tower."

He sighed a little and shook his head. "Actually, something happened during the first hour of this trial, and our Heaven scroll ended up getting burned."

My eyes widened a bit. "But… is that even allowed?"

He pursed his lips. "That's one way from keeping the enemy from retrieving a piece of information is to destroy it."

"… that is a good point…" I frowned a little and focused again. "Well… if you're worried, I can help a little longer. I won't be able to get back to Kabuto and Yoroi just yet… so…"

He nodded. "Yeah. Thanks. Just don't get yourself killed," he ordered quietly.

As Sasuke left to get more water, things went from bad to worse. Naruto decided to try to fake a Heaven scroll so they wouldn't have to fight anyone else. But since they didn't have a Heaven scroll to fake the inside of, he would have to open the one Earth scroll they had.

Which would get their team eliminated by default.

But it might have been the only hope that Team 7 had in passing part two of the Chunin Exams.

Just as Naruto was about to open the scroll, I closed my eyes in fear. This was way too much for me. I wondered if fighting for a Heaven scroll would really be so bad. But of course, it seemed like there was no other choice.

I could feel Naruto shaking as he prepared to open the scroll.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I looked up, slowly opening my eyes to see Kabuto Yakushi, my teammate, standing beside us, one hand over Naruto's hands and the Earth scroll, keeping the blond from opening it.

I almost cried in relief. "Kabuto!"

He looked to me and smiled for a moment, before his expression turned to a frown. "What happened to you?!" he demanded, suddenly looking worried. I just shuffled my feet as he grabbed my injured arm and examined it. "If you weren't already hurt, I'd beat some sense into you," my teammate grumbled, taking out his needle and thread again. "Okay, let me see your wounds."

Not wanting to make him even angrier than he appeared to be, I sighed and unzipped my jacket and lifted up my shirt. "The worst ones are on my stomach and back," I muttered, turning to face him.

Minutes passed until, finally, I heard the thread snap. "You're done," Kabuto said.

"Thanks." I stood, zipping my jacket back up. "Sorry for worrying you… I just…" I trailed off as Kabuto quickly pulled me into a hug.

His arms were wrapped around me as he growled, "Idiot. If anything happened to you…" Quickly pulling away, he adjusted his glasses. "Just… just don't do that to me again, okay?" I nodded weakly. He held out his pinky to me, just like I had to him only a few days before. "You promise?"

I latched my pinky with his, no hesitation in my movements. "Promise, Kabuto!"

When Sasuke finally decided to join us, his disdain and astonishment at what the three of us had almost done was radiating off of him in waves. A sheepish apology came from the three of us.

Then, Kabuto explained to us just what would have happened if we'd had continued on with our rule breaking. Although those who opened the scrolls were protected by a hypnosis jutsu, those who were unlucky enough would only wake up once the Exam was over, but only then.

"Kabuto, right?" Sasuke drawled slowly. "Why are you out here all by yourself? Where are your teammates?"

Kabuto turned to face him, a smile on his face slightly. "I came looking for this one over here." He gestured to me. "She was with me during the first day, but she snuck off to find you guys. I guess she thought that we could take care of ourselves without her. I've been looking for her for a few days now."

My heart sunk. "So… you and Yoroi found another scroll…?" I asked meekly. He nodded, pulling out the two scrolls that he'd gotten. I frowned and hung my head in shame. "I'm sorry, Kabuto… I shouldn't have worried you like that."

He leaned down and poked my forehead a little. "Stupid. I'd have worried more if I didn't know where you were going. I knew that you were safe, I just didn't think you'd get this badly hurt… who did you fight? The ANBU?"

I shook my head again. "No. Not exactly. We got ambushed by a few Sound Nin and I… I wasn't strong enough to protect my friends."

"I'm sure you did fine. Even I wouldn't be able to get up with these wounds," Kabuto replied, gesturing to the cuts all over my body. He looked up with a slight smile, putting the scrolls back in his bag. "C'mon, Kayu. Yoroi is already waiting at the tower." I nodded. "Thank you for taking good care of her. I'll take care of things from here."

The two of us started to walk away, but Sasuke's voice stopped us. "Hold on." Kabuto turned slightly. "I'll fight you for it… I'll fight you for that Heaven scroll." I blinked a little. That was a stupid decision, even from a desperate Sasuke.

In seeming astonishment, Kabuto echoed, "You'll fight me for it? Are you… serious?"

"As a heart attack," Sasuke retorted, his eyes narrowed in sheer determination. "I don't care that you just saved us from being knocked into next Tuesday. It's not like we have time to play nice." Protests from both Naruto and Sakura went unheard. "Shut up!" he snapped. "It's either him or us. It's about survival and winning, nothing else!"

Kabuto frowned. "Stop lying. If you were serious about winning being all you cared about, why would you challenge me out in the open? You could have just stolen the scroll when my back was turned. Besides…" he paused, "if you were serious about stealing a scroll from me, you realize that you'd be stealing Kayuki's chances of becoming a Chunin away, too."

At this, Sasuke frowned a little, his eyes darting from Kabuto to me. He growled a little bit. "Tch," he spat.

"Well… why don't we do this? You helped Kayuki out, so it seems that I should repay you. I'll help you out to find the scroll you're looking for." He grinned a little. "But we shouldn't do this here. After all, that cooking fire will draw predators here… both beast… and man."

Some rustling in the bushes behind me made me frown. "Kabuto…"

His grin grew darker and wider. "I know. That's what I was warning you and your teammates about, Kayuki. So we need to be careful."

I nodded slightly. "Let's go."

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

As the group of five flew through the trees, Sasuke openly had to question Kabuto's knowledge. "What makes you think that there are still other candidates out here? I mean, it's been four days."

"Of course!" the older Genin replied cheerily. "After all, the easiest way to find one of those scrolls isn't by running blindly through this huge forest. It's to lay in wait, set a trap for the opponent… which means that the easiest place to set that trap is a place that everyone has to get to."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed again. "You're talking about the goal."

Nodding, Kabuto's gaze was still fixed straight ahead. "Yes. The tower at the center of the forest will be teeming with candidates with their scrolls."

Kayuki nodded in agreement. "But that isn't the only problem, right, Kabuto?" Her temporary teammate nodded. "Yeah… since there's sure to be other teams that don't have their scrolls yet, they'll be trying the same thing."

Looking at her, Sasuke noticed the sudden difference in the aura that the girl gave off. She was much more serious. Even with her wounds, she appeared to be deadly serious, flying through the air like she was on a mission and she had somewhere important to be.

"Yes, but then there's the last part of the puzzle. Those collectors I told you about," Kabuto said to her. She frowned deeply. "Right, they'll be hidden at the tower so that they can pass the Exam easier, help out teams from their fellow village, or they steal just to keep too many from passing the Exam."

Frowning as well, Sasuke took in all this information. "I get it… and I get why you took the three of us with you. You're afraid of them, aren't you?" he taunted.

Of course, Kabuto didn't fall for the childish jab that Sasuke threw at him. "Of course I'm scared, wouldn't you be?" he replied, a cheerful edge still in his voice.

The five continued on to the tower in silence, Kabuto and Kayuki still in front. She only faltered once, which astonished Sasuke. Her legs had also been injured, and she couldn't exert herself too much. Yet there she was, running through the forest and keeping up with Sasuke and Kabuto.

He wondered just how much this Exam had pushed her.

He also had to wonder what happened to her while he was out cold.

**=Yakushi Kabuto=**

Night fell slowly, and eventually, the forest went completely dark. Kabuto stood with Team 7 and Kayuki. She was worn out from the run, but she tried her best not to show it. Hopefully she hadn't ripped her stitches… again.

The group of five quickly formulated a plan and split up to execute that plan. Kabuto was hidden amongst the trees. Sakura was place in the tall grass. Sasuke was underwater. Naruto was stuck hiding out in several vines. Kayuki was place in the tops of the trees, using her Shadow Raccoon to communicate.

As they slowly got closer and closer to the tower, more and more horrific traps popped up.

One Naruto triggered caused Kabuto to fly into action.

He sprung forward, taking several kunai in the back. He heard Naruto's cry of shock. But in a puff of smoke, Kabuto was gone, standing in the tree. "That was way too close for comfort," he complained.

Kayuki huffed angrily. "You idiot, and you're mad at me for scaring you."

"At least I used the substitution jutsu," he shot back.

And so, the group continued on towards the tower.

But it seemed like the tower never got any closer.

Kabuto suddenly came to a realization and a grimace came over his face. "Looks like someone spotted us… and caught us. They're playing games with our minds. Take a look over there."

He pointed to a tree were Naruto had pinned a giant centipede with his kunai. But that'd happened a while ago, and they'd walked away since then.

Sasuke seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "Genjutsu."

"Yeah. They got us good. I only suspected a few moments ago," Kabuto admitted bitterly. "I can see their aim now. They're wearing us down and then, when we're exhausted, both physically and mentally, they'll attack."

Biting her lip, Kayuki muttered, "But that's what we are right now."

The silver-haired shinobi nodded again. "Yeah. Looks like they'll be coming soon. We should be prepared."

As if in response, several clones came morphing out from the trees. Kabuto and Kayuki were immediately on guard, Kayuki beginning to make several hand signs in order to use a jutsu quicker than she could imagine.

"Snow Dog Jutsu!"

Almost immediately, the temperature dropped a few degrees. A whirl of snow appeared at Kayuki's feet, quickly turning into the shape of a large, white dog. The dog's ears perked up a little.

Kabuto paused for a second as he watched Naruto's poor attempts to take down one of the clones. From the injury of one clone came another clone. He saw the wheels turning in Sasuke's head, but also noticed that he couldn't move as a kunai flew towards him.

Throwing Sasuke to the ground, Kabuto ran off a little, Kayuki right behind him. "It's a Genjutsu again?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "We're fighting illusions again. But that weapon was real… so I'm sure that the real enemy is close by, firing off weapons from behind their illusions. Don't let them fool you."

Kayuki nodded. "Right." She pulled a kunai from the pouch strapped to her leg. "So what do we need to do to survive?" she wondered, lowering herself into a defensive position.

"We have to hold our ground. If we go blindly looking for them in the woods, we'll just get taken out one by one. It'll be easy for them. But they're weak in Taijutsu, so this is what they'll attack with. We have to stay here and fend off whatever they throw at us."

Once again nodding, Kayuki stood her ground, just like Kabuto had ordered. The small group continued to dodge their attacks. As time went on, the group grew more and more tired.

It was irritating, to say the least.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

Well, things all worked out in the end.

For once, Naruto had the brilliant idea that saved us all. He disguised four of his Shadow Clones as Kabuto, Sakura, Sasuke, and me, while he attacked the Genjutsu illusions nonstop. The four of us then proceeded to corner the casters of the said Genjutsu.

In the end, we won the physical battle and we got the Heaven scroll that Team 7 needed to pass the second part of the Exam.

But Kabuto was badly injured, and he wasn't okay. He'd gotten a nasty slash across his face. As I helped him to the tower, leaving my teammates behind with their two scrolls, he muttered, "Did I scare you back there?"

I shook my head a little. "Nope. You didn't scare me one bit, you jerk."

He chuckled a little. "Let's just get through this door and finish off the exam."

**=Yakushi Kabuto=**

She never found out.

The stupid girl didn't even have a clue about what he truly was. She thought he was her friend, someone that she could rely on. She didn't know he was lying to her that entire time.

But as that card with her information sealed into it passed from Kabuto's hand into Orochimaru's, Kabuto knew that he'd betrayed her trust. She didn't know it yet, but he'd just sold her information, everything he'd learned about her, to someone who was after her for his own selfish purposes.

Not that Kabuto would regret what he'd done.

"So this card is for the girl?" his master hissed quietly.

Kabuto nodded. "Yes. Her powers, her relationships, everything that I managed to find out."

Orochimaru nodded as well, taking a peek at the card. "And… this girl trusts you?"

With a smirk, Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Yes, sir. She trusts me unreservedly." Orochimaru looked pleased by this revelation. "Sir. If you don't mind me asking, what do you want with Kayuki Akane?"

He grinned widely, his snake-like features more prominent than ever. "That girl possesses an interesting power. I was after that power for years. It's just a lucky coincidence that the Akane girl is the one who is in possession of those powers."

Kabuto's eyes narrowed slightly. "A… lucky coincidence?"

"Oh, I've been looking after Kayuki Akane for years, Kabuto. And not just because she has these powers I'm after," he revealed. But that was the last thing that the Snake Lord said before disappearing completely. Kabuto stood there, his eyes still narrowed at the spot where Orochimaru once was.

But his farewell only gave Kabuto more questions about this girl.

This girl named Kayuki Akane.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

We passed, and just on time, too.

Kabuto and me stood with the rest of the teams who had passed the second part of the Chunin Exams. There was Team 7, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. There was Team 8, Shino, Hinata, and Kiba. There was Team 10, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru.

My eyes landed on Neji, who stood with Tenten and Lee. He waved a little to me, a small, satisfied smile on his face. They'd all passed the second part of the exams.

Although I wasn't surprised that Gaara and the other two Sand Nin made it through alive, I was shocked to see the Sound Nin who Sasuke had almost murdered in cold blood were there too. And although they looked beaten up, they also looked as if they were ready to go.

So there would be preliminary rounds held… to narrow the playing field. There were twenty-one Genin who had completed the second part of the exam. Far too many for the third part of the Exam.

But the choice to fight in the preliminary rounds would be up to the candidates. Our proctor, Hayate Gekko, assured us that if we wanted to drop out after being pushed so hard during the second exam, we could. If we didn't want to fight in the preliminaries right after we got out of the Forest of Death, we didn't have to. But why would anyone quit after getting this far?

To my surprise, Kabuto was the one who raised his hand from in front of me. "Fine, fine, you guys win, I'm out." There was silence for a moment. He backed out?

"Kabuto, why are you quitting like this?" I asked, my voice wavering. "You and I went through so much, and now you're just going to back out like this? Please, you can't do this to me!"

He frowned a little. "Kayuki. Hey, c'mere. Don't you dare cry on me." He pulled me into a hug once more. "I'm just too beat up. I can't risk my life like this again. I'm just scared, I guess." He let go, kneeling in front of me. "Sorry, I know I'm letting you down. But I think going for five days nonstop was too much."

I almost started to cry. "But-but! Please, Kabuto, if this is because of me, I'm sorry! You can't give up now, you made it so far!"

He shook his head. "It's not because of you, Kayuki. I promise. Just be careful in this third round, okay? Just take care of yourself. I'll stay to help you out, if you need me to. Promise."

With a broad smile, I hugged him before backing away. "You'd better keep your promise this time."

Almost right after I let go of him, Kabuto backed away, walking from the room and quitting the Exam. I watched him go, slightly upset about his sudden departure. But he promised that he'd stay if I needed him. And after this sudden death match, I knew that I'd need him.

After Kabuto, no one else quit.

Thus, the matches started. First up was Yoroi Akado versus Sasuke Uchiha.

Frowning a bit, I looked from my teammate behind me, who nodded to me reassuringly, and to Sasuke, who looked as determined as ever.

As the fight started, the two shinobi immediately began to duke it out. They wasted no time in attempting to rip each other to shreds. Sasuke's speed was beyond belief. He and Yoroi were attacking each other swiftly and surely. The two of them were strong, that was certain. But something was wrong with Sasuke. He looked like he was in pain.

And he didn't use any of his signature fire jutsus, either. The fight went on, Sasuke's chakra being stolen from him by Yoroi. I flinched. That meant that Sasuke's only choice at this point was to use Taijutsu.

I had to look away, angered and disgusted at how Yoroi was fighting. But somehow, Sasuke pulled through and won. It was one of Lee's moves that allowed Sasuke to win. I looked over to Lee, who was watching in shock.

But even so, no matter what, Sasuke had won.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

It wasn't him that defeated the curse mark. It wasn't his own strength that pushed it back. Sure, it was, in a way. But something else entirely fueled his will to rely only on his power.

There were his memories. There was Naruto… there was Sakura… and there was Kayuki.

When Kayuki had stopped him in the forest, had fallen into his arms like that, she'd told him something that didn't need words to be conveyed. She trusted him and knew that he was strong without having to rely on some old man for his power. He could defeat his own weakness.

There was nothing else to it.

He won because he was strong enough. He won because he didn't want to lose to a mark on his neck. He wanted that win from his own strength.

Although it took a lot out of him, he won, and he looked up at Kayuki as he did. She was smiling. As she saw his gaze on her face, she gave him a soft smile and a thumbs up before looking away, slightly tinged pink in the face.

He was proud of himself for mastering his Taijutsu, even though he'd stolen one technique from Rock Lee.

That Sharingan was definitely going to be helpful in the future.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

The next matches ended easily. Shino Aburame defeated Zaku Abumi. The Sound Nin, Dosu Kinuta, took on the Sand Nin, Kankuro, and lost. Ino and Sakura tangled once more, both of them being eliminated after a tie. Temari and Tenten battled it out, Temari coming out on top. Kin Tsuchi and Shikamaru Nara went head to head, ending in Kin knocking herself out.

Finally, Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka were chosen for their battle, attempting to kill each other. Naruto's win was created from pure dumb luck. But that dumb luck gave him the chance that he'd needed to create his win. He used a simple Transformation Technique and knocked out Kiba's partner.

Naruto won, moving on to the next round.

Next up were the cousins. Hinata Hyuuga… and Neji Hyuuga, and Hinata refused to back down. The two Hyuuga both walked down to the field. Poor Hinata. I frowned a little as Neji passed me. My hand caught his.

"Neji…" He looked at me, my gaze boring into his pearly eyes. "Don't kill her. She's still your family. Be strong enough to fight your hatred," I said, still staring at him. His stare was unwavering, but he nodded. "Good. Now fight, and win. Just don't use fatal force."

Even so, as the battle began, Neji showed no mercy. I knew his techniques. I'd had them used against me. But even so, Neji hadn't used fatal force like this with me. I'd only ever seen him use that much force once.

It was his hatred for the Main Branch of the Hyuuga clan that fueled his killing intent that was aimed towards Hinata.

If Neji decided to kill her, I knew that Hinata wouldn't be leaving this building with a pulse. He was angry, very angry, with what the Main Branch had done to his father, and he was prepared to take it out on Hinata.

To Neji, it didn't matter that Hinata was just a victim of circumstance. She'd die if Neji found that he wanted her dead.

The two, with their Byakugan, began to aim hits and other blows at each other. They weren't aiming to break each other's bones or crush each other to bits. They were aiming to stop each other's chakra from flowing, to stop their hearts from beating.

Neji was far more experienced, however. He only had to touch Hinata lightly in several different places on her arm. While it seemed that he was only deflecting her blows, he was actually managing to attack the chakra network engrained in her body.

He was preparing for the final strike. And I… couldn't let him do that.

**=Hyuuga Neji=**

"Stop it, Neji!" The tall, long-haired Hyuuga stopped in his tracks as he watched Hinata in front of him. "You said you wouldn't kill her."

He could hear Kayuki's disappointment. "Tch," he muttered, standing up straight. "Fine, you win, Kayuki. I won't kill her…" He moved his hand back into a fighting position. "But that doesn't mean that I won't stop her chakra."

He knocked Hinata back easily, preparing to end the match. But the match didn't end with Hinata's death like he'd planned. It ended with the Jounin preventing him from ending her life.

A hand on his shoulder also stopped him.

"Hey. This match was over as soon as you hit that chakra point on her body. You should stop, Neji," Kayuki muttered to him. Neji pulled away from the Jounin, suddenly angry with himself. "You… I can't believe you, Neji."

Neji turned on Kayuki next. "Shut up! I could've finished this once and for all! I could've taken her out!"

With a frown on Kayuki's face, she growled, "You could have killed her. It's a good thing that the Jounin stopped you, or I would've killed you myself."

His eyes went wide; never before had Kayuki been so aggressive, especially not with him. "Kayuki…"

Something in her had changed. It was like she'd become a different person during these Exams. She wasn't at all like she had been only months before. She'd become stronger, more sure of herself. She was finally being heard.

He growled a little. She, like Hinata, had defied her fate.

"Step out of the way, Kayuki."

She shook her head fiercely. "I won't. Hinata is the only person who ever treated me with even a bit of respect in the Academy! It's time I repay the favor!"

Behind her, Hinata collapsed, Kurenai quickly rushing to her broken and beaten up figure. Naruto, Sakura, and Lee quickly joined her.

He was finished playing games.

It was over.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

Hinata was dying. Neji was definitely aiming to kill her. The medical nin had to work quickly if they wanted a chance to save Hinata's life.

But still, the matches went on.

Next up was Rock Lee versus Gaara of the Desert.

I clapped Lee on the shoulder once. "I'm… good luck, Lee," I muttered. He nodded, finally serious about his match. He knew what this could mean for him. "I guess… I'm facing Chouji in the final match. I… I have to go."

Quickly fleeing the ring to "prepare for my match," I walked to the medical wing and sat down next to Sasuke's bed.

"Sasuke… you should know… that Naruto won. He beat Kiba, even when the odds were stacked against him. But Ino and Sakura beat each other up a little too much. Neither of them are moving on. Shino is moving on, Kankuro is moving on, Temari is moving on, and Shikamaru is moving on. I… Lee is fighting Gaara. I'm worried about him." I frowned. "He's ready to kill himself to win."

Sasuke didn't reply. He was still unconscious. I almost started crying.

"I'm so scared… I don't know what to do…"

Even from the medical wing, I could hear the crash of the battle between sand and strength. I quickly stood, my eyes wide. Without another word to Sasuke's sleeping form, I ran out of the room, back towards the battle, where I was sure Lee was struggling against Gaara.

When I reached the battle room, I could only see one thing. Gaara was preparing to kill Lee, to squash him and squeeze him to death with his sand. Gaara's sand encased Lee's arm and leg, crushing the bone.

It was over. Rock Lee was finished.

But it was Might Guy who intervened. He looked much more serious than I'd ever seen him, looking angry at both Gaara and himself. He seemed angry because Gaara had threatened to kill Lee.

But somehow, Lee was still able to move after having his arm and leg crushed.

If I was right, he'd torn his muscles apart after using a technique that would have killed Gaara if it'd been anyone else. But Lee stood. He couldn't fight after that. It was like Lee was dead, but he was still able to keep standing up.

I gaped at the horrific sight in front of me and sank to my knees, tears streaming down my face for a reason I couldn't place either. Sakura was jumping down, yelling Lee's name.

Guy laid his student down on the ground, his own tears dropping to the floor. Naruto also ran to Lee's side, passing an angry Gaara on the way. There was Lee, unconscious and covered in blood, but still, he wanted to keep going.

Then came the worst news of all.

Lee was so badly injured that he might never have been able to continue being a ninja.

He would never be able to continue fighting. He'd be put into rehabilitation, but even after the rehabilitation, Rock Lee wouldn't ever become a ninja again. There was nothing that even the best medical nin could do for him.

I had to look away. I wasn't sure if I could go on and fight.

It was me versus Chouji Akimichi.

I reluctantly stepped down to the destroyed field, standing there with nothing but pure will being my reason to keep going. Then, the match started.

I moved first, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. I jumped back, using hand signs to summon one of my animals. "Shadow Claw Jutsu!" The raccoon jumped from the shadows, holding up its claws.

**=Hyuuga Neji=**

Neji's eyes widened. He knew what she was planning to do with the raccoon she'd summoned from the shadows. But she'd never been able to do it before. Had she really grown that strong?

She made a few more hand signs. "Snow Flower Jutsu!"

The jutsu had a deceiving name. It was a beautiful jutsu, in its own way, but it was named for Kayuki. It was the last jutsu her mother created, twelve years ago, right before the attack of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Fusion!"

Neji frowned. She really was going to try the jutsu. Last time that she tried that, she was with him. It'd hurt her really badly, and he'd made her promise that she'd only try that jutsu if she really needed it. He couldn't watch, but he had to.

Shadows were slowly creeping over her body, engulfing her small form in darkness. She was being swallowed by the raccoon's shadows. That small raccoon was being split apart, spreading itself over her.

When the shadows broke apart, Neji's eyes widened. The jutsu had been successful. She'd done it.

The shadows had turned themselves into claws, five on each hand, a pair of bat-like wings, which sprouted from her back, and she also had shadows underneath her eyes. It looked like she was the raccoon.

Even as Chouji began to use his own jutsu, his Expansion Jutsu, and rolled around, trying to hit her, she jumped back, continuously jumping back to dodge his attacks, eventually leading him into a wall, where he got stuck. She leapt back again and the shadows began to swirl out from where they were on her body. The shadows began to form an orb of darkness.

As she shot it and hit Chouji, he let out a cry of pain and was forced to let up on his Expansion Jutsu. Neji frowned; she was being merciless.

Before Chouji could move, Kayuki was on top of him, holding a kunai to his neck. She looked up to Hayate Gekko, who nodded.

"The winner of this match is Kayuki Akane."

And then, it was over.

**=Orochimaru=**

So, finally, the preliminaries were finished. Kabuto and the Snake Sannin had finally decided what it was that they were going to do. Now, they moved on to a different part of conversation.

"As for the girl."

Kabuto's head snapped up at this. "You mean… Kayuki." Orochimaru nodded. His follower's eyes narrowed a little. "What about her?"

Raising one eyebrow, Orochimaru chuckled dryly. "So, I suppose that you, like many before her, have developed a soft side for the girl?" Kabuto huffed a little and looked away. "Well, that means that I'm right." He chuckled once more. "I want you to look after her before the final matches. Then, after she wins or she loses, convince her that she can get even stronger… and bring her to me."

His gaze still trained on the wooden floor, the silver-haired missing-nin frowned a little. "So, you plan to use her as well… In the same manner that you're planning to use Sasuke?"

Orochimaru took note of the blatant, yet subtle worry in his junior's voice.

"No. Not _just_ like Sasuke. But I need that girl," he replied. "She is important. And it seems like she is attached to Sasuke. If you can just get them closer together, when you take Sasuke, she will come as well."

It was infallible.

Make Sasuke and Kayuki fall for one another… then tear Sasuke away and force Kayuki to follow.

Girls were so impressionable when they were young and in love.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

With nine of us left, I was unsure of how these matches would play out. The matches would have to be two on two, but there were nine. There were six from the Leaf village and three from the Sand village.

I frowned a little and continued to listen to the Hokage. We had one month to prepare ourselves, to train for the matches. I knew that I would have to train hard. Everyone around me was much stronger than I was. I'd gotten lucky. I had to make sure that I could improve on my mother's old jutsus.

Maybe, just maybe, I could create my own, as well.

We were given a slip of paper, one each. On it was a number. Mine said "8" on it. Although I was a little confused, we got our pairings immediately. It was Neji and Naruto, Gaara and Sasuke, Kankuro and Shino, and Shikamaru and me. Temari would face Shikamaru or me, depending on who won.

The only thing that would ever make a difference would be the training what we got done within the next month. We had to get everything done.

I walked out of the building, towards the training grounds. There was something I needed to do. I had to find someone who would train me for the next month so I could become strong enough to beat Shikamaru in the first round of the Chunin Exam finals.

"Hey!"

As I exited the building, I looked over to see Kabuto standing there, one hand in the air in a waving motion. A smile took over my face as I ran up to him. "Kabuto!" I threw my arms around him in excitement. "I did it, Kabuto, I won my preliminary match!"

He smiled a little. "Way to go, Kayuki."

I smiled back at him. "Now I just need to find someone to train me a little more. I have a month to get as strong as I can."

I didn't notice the dark look in Kabuto's eyes as he replied, "Why don't I keep my promise to you and start training you now? I'll teach you what you need to know. Some small medical Ninjutsu, which will be useful in battle, and I'll train you a little further in Taijutsu. That sound good?"

Those words made me spin around to face him happily. "Of course! That's more than good, I'd love to have you as my teacher!" I exclaimed happily.

Kabuto smiled a bit, without me noticing that dark twinge in his smile, and extended his hand to me. "Then, let's go."

* * *

**/cheers**

**Almost done with the Chunin Exams! Then we'll get to my favorite part, the Konoha Invasion! But in the next chapter, things start to get a little... er... sketchy, I guess. /shifty eyes**

**Yes, I took Dozu out for purposes that I needed to do myself. Dozu died pretty early on, and it's more than possible that his death would still happen. So it will. Keep reading!**

**Also, yes, I'm trying to establish a deep connection between Kabuto and Kayuki. They're actually one of my favorite interactions to write. /looks down ... I'm sorry. /sob**

**Don't blame me, I'm just trying to work my way into the plot and put Kayuki's roots even deeper than they are. Anyways, I've been working on several chapters now, since I've been sick. I think my grammar suffered from it, though. Ugh, I feel dead. I caught the flu, which sucks. Anyways, you don't want to hear about my ranting, haha.**

**Review please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Naruto: Lost in the Dark  
Mission 6: scars from sorrow**

* * *

Kabuto used a different type of training than I was used to.

He insisted on leaving the village to train me, going out into the woods to survive. We began facing many different ninja who were on missions, even as the Chunin Exams were going on.

"Concentrate, Kayuki. Come on, you have to concentrate!" Kabuto ordered. I nodded a little, pouring enough chakra into the medical jutsu I was performing. "That's good. It's healed."

I opened my eyes and looked at Kabuto's hand. "Kabuto… there's still a scar there, though."

He grinned widely, patting my head gently. "Hey, you did great for only your fourth time. You sealed the skin over the wound and stopped it from bleeding. Let's try one more time."

Taking a kunai in one hand, Kabuto sliced the skin once again, disrupting the newly healed wound. He barely flinched as blood started to pour from the sensitive wound. I focused once more, channeling my chakra into a medical jutsu. Placing my hand a few inches over his, I watched as the skin began to mend itself once more, the blood vanishing from Kabuto's pale skin.

He nodded steadily. "Just a little bit more concentration, Kayuki. You're doing great."

I nodded and did as he said, watching as the wound sealed up, healing over completely, leaving only a thin, pale mark. I sighed in relief and nearly collapsed from happiness. Kabuto held his hand up to his face, examining my work. With a grin, he nodded.

"Nice work."

Nearly falling over, I laughed. Doing a medical jutsu for a small cut took a lot out of me, and a lot of practice just to start to master it in the first place. Kabuto leaned over me and smiled.

"You did fantastic, Kayuki. Tomorrow we'll work on doing bigger injuries. For now, let's practice your physical strength and Taijutsu, okay?" He stood, pulling out his kunai. "What I'm going to do is go to the other side of clearing. You need to dodge all the kunai I throw at you, defeat my shadow clones, and then try to land a hit on me with your own physical strength."

I nodded happily. "Sure! But I'm not going to promise anything yet. I'm still pretty weak." Kabuto just nodded and stood.

He leapt across the clearing, landing on the opposite side of me. With a grin, he put his hands together, making a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Several Kabuto clones appeared, all holding kunai.

My fists and feet flew towards the clones, many of them disappearing in a puff of smoke as they were hit. I turned and saw a sharp kunai being thrown towards me. I quickly ducked. It flew over my head and soon embedded itself in a tree right behind my back.

This pattern continued until I stood alone in the middle of the grassy clearing, Kabuto still in the same place that he started. The two of us stared silently for a single, peaceful moment.

Then, that moment was broken as I charged forward, kunai in hand. From exerting myself, I was already sweating like crazy. My legs were killing me, but I didn't want to give in to my weakness just yet. I still hadn't completed the last bit of the test he'd laid out for me.

Kabuto met me halfway, his own kunai colliding with mine. He jumped back, avoiding my punch. I attempted to drop kick his leg from under him. Seeing this, he jumped up, over my poorly aimed kick. As I stood, I raised my elbow into his gut, landing that one hit on him.

He jumped back suddenly, holding the spot that I'd managed to hit him. "That was real good. But I can see you're exhausted from just that." I nodded, bending over to catch my breath. "That's enough for today, why don't we take a break?"

The training continued over the course of the next two weeks before Kabuto and I made it back to Konoha. He'd said, "I have some business to finish. I have to cut this short."

That was fine with me. I'd learned so much from him in just two weeks. It'd definitely make a difference in the outcome of my match against Shikamaru in two weeks.

It was the day after we returned that I learned of the horrific death of Dosu Kinuta, the Sound Nin who had lost the preliminary match against Kankuro. Apparently, he'd been crushed to death by a massive force.

For some reason, I knew it was Gaara.

I didn't know how someone could end a life like that so easily. I could deal damage in the face of danger, if I knew I needed to survive. But I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that, with just a flick of his hand, Gaara could crush someone into a pulp, ending their lives.

That worried me more than I cared to admit.

But I continued to train, healing my own wounds and making continued attempts to strengthen my body enough so I could hold my own in a Taijutsu match. But no matter what I did, my strength wasn't enough.

I still was easily fatigued and my muscles started aching after only a few minutes of aiming at inanimate objects. It was rather sad. If Lee was better, I'd have asked him to train me.

That reminded me… I hadn't visited Lee in the hospital yet.

It made me feel like a bad person.

I sighed and decided that I'd visit him when I had time. I had to get stronger first. I knew that Neji and Naruto and Sasuke and Shikamaru and Shino must all have been working so hard. I couldn't let them get ahead of me.

They were already so far ahead of me in terms of strength. What more could I do to catch up with them? I wanted to become just as strong. So I could stand a chance against them.

Training passed faster and faster, with weeks turning into days. I only had a few days left until my match against Shikamaru. I had looked up everything on the Nara clan, including their unique Shadow Possession Jutsu.

I knew that I had enough power to win, as long as I stayed far enough away from the shadows so that Shikamaru couldn't get a hold of me. I knew that he had a range of a relatively short distance. So all I had to do was force him to exert his range to such a point that he could no longer catch me.

My next few thoughts were about Sasuke.

Like Lee, Sasuke was still in the hospital. I felt really bad, since I'd thought about visiting Lee before I thought about visiting Sasuke, my own teammate. It wasn't a good thing.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Sasuke was laying in the hospital bed, eyes still closed. His breathing was even, as if he was sleeping.

But his mind wasn't at all resting. His mind was working itself overtime, to the fullest. He was looking for the answers inside his own mind. Why he'd succumbed to his darkness, to his hatred, and why he'd stopped when he saw his own teammate, beaten and bloody.

"Sasuke…"

There was her voice again. Sasuke nearly stirred in his sleep, his head tossing to the side that her voice had come from. He felt a warm hand on his own.

"Hey. I'm sorry I haven't visited you in the longest time… but I've been away. You made it into the finals, in case you forgot."

Even in his sleep, Sasuke felt a twinge of pride in what he'd accomplished. She had acknowledged that.

"But… but Lee won't be a ninja… ever again." There was a pause of silence and a sniffle. "He lost so badly to Gaara… his arm and his leg, th-they were completely and totally crushed… He's not… he can't…"

Then, she started to cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know, I-I shouldn't cry… but Lee…" She paused, sniffling once more before saying, "I hope you get better soon, Sasuke… if there's any of us rookies that have a chance to become a Chunin… it's you."

Suddenly, the warmth on his hand was gone. His hand twitched unconsciously, the change in temperature shocking him a bit. Sasuke tossed his head around again, facing the other way. He willed his eyes to open, although they just wouldn't obey his brain.

Her voice was shaky. "I… I brought you a Peony flower. I wasn't sure what kind of flowers you liked… or, I mean, if you like flowers at all… but the Peony means masculinity and bravery. It… reminded me of you."

There was a clink of glass on wood. Then, there were footsteps, slowly trailing further and further away from Sasuke's ears. He strained to hear as the footsteps walked down the hall, but eventually, the footsteps were gone.

She'd disappeared.

Now, and only now, Sasuke's eyes gave in to his brain's orders. They opened, staring at the blank wall next to his bed. Slowly blinking once, he turned his head to the other side. There was a bedside table, with a small, blue vase sitting on it. In the vase was a small, pink flower.

With one hand, shaking from exhaustion, Sasuke reached for the flower, gently caressing its petals.

It was then that he decided that he did, actually, like flowers. He liked them a lot. But his favorite would always be the pink Peony.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

Days passed, and each day, I returned to Sasuke's hospital room, a new Peony in hand each day. Every day, he responded differently. One day, he floated in and out of consciousness, but the next day, he was out cold once again. He slept peacefully.

The next day, Sasuke was gone.

But each day, Lee was pushing himself. It was like he couldn't accept that he would never get to be a ninja again. Everyone who was there gathered to help him. Sakura visited constantly, bringing new flowers to him and giving him the encouragement he so desperately needed.

It was clear that Lee was falling harder for Sakura each day she visited. And perhaps, even if it was only the slightest chance, Sakura was beginning to see Lee in the same light.

But one day, the day before the finals of the Chunin Exams, as Lee was sleeping, disaster struck.

I met Naruto and Shikamaru while I visited Sasuke's now-vacant hospital room after my training for the day. I was feeling disappointed that particular day in my failing physical strength. No matter how much I trained my body to withstand physical damage and continued strain, it didn't seem to want to grow any stronger whatsoever.

So I was stuck with a weak body, fighting against someone who could paralyze me and take me down with shadows.

After I left Sasuke's hospital room, I was on my way to Lee's when I met up with Naruto and Shikamaru. The three of us decided to go together… but when we opened the door, something completely awful greeted us.

Gaara of the Desert was standing over Lee's bed, in it an unconscious Lee. Gaara's sand was hovering over Lee, threatening to kill him. Gaara was trying to finish off what he'd started in the match.

Shikamaru acted quickly, using his Shadow Possession Jutsu to freeze Gaara in his tracks. Naruto was the next to leap into action, his fist striking across Gaara's face.

"Hey! Why are you in here?! What are you doing to Lee?!" Naruto demanded, his face littered with anger, from his eyes to his mouth. Gaara didn't reply, only serving to feed Naruto's anger even more. "Well?! What were you gonna do?!"

Finally, Gaara replied. "… I was going to kill him."

I nearly gasped and prepared to douse him with water. But Gaara just stood there. "Why are you…?" I trailed off, not wanting to continue any further.

But Shikamaru took over, glaring at Gaara with a ferocity I hadn't seen from the slacker before. "You've beaten him once already. Wasn't that enough for him? For you?! What, do you have some kind of personal vendetta against the poor guy?!"

"I don't have anything against him," the red-haired Sand Nin rasped. "It's not that complicated. I just wanted him dead."

Naruto could no longer contain himself. "You're insane! This is mental, you're mental!"

I agreed to a point. "Does Lee have something you don't? What fuels you to want to kill him?!" I demanded, waving my arms crazily.

Shikamaru added, "We're not going to just stand here and let you murder him. He's our friend and you're nuts."

The confrontation ended quickly, with Gaara easily seeing through Shikamaru's bluff and Naruto's temper getting the best of him. Throughout it all, the psychotic ninja didn't even blink. He didn't move, he just stood there.

But Gaara also revealed something; he had a Demon with him, a spirit of sand. He was responsible for his own mother's death. He was born with this spirit, the Shukkaku, inside of him. It's why he'd been raised the way he had been.

Another thing… he didn't care for love. He didn't care for friends or family.

He was raised to be feared. He was raised to be a killer. People in his village didn't revere him as his father had hoped. Gaara was instead hated by those in his village. And while his father seemed to love him for the first six years of his life… since he was only a child, his father had also been trying to murder him.

Gaara had convinced himself that he only had one purpose, and that… that was to kill.

That revelation gave me so much horror. I realized what Gaara was missing. He hadn't been given the chance to make the emotional ties that every child needed in order to grow up the right way. He'd grown up in hatred, not in love.

All Gaara needed was someone who loved him for who he was.

I frowned and took a tentative step forward. "Naruto… Shikamaru… please, leave this to me. Get out. Now."

"But… Kayuki, you can't be serious!" Shikamaru protested. I didn't budge. Naruto also protested, but I wouldn't hear any of it. I had an idea of how to handle Gaara. Seeming to realize this, Shikamaru took a step back. "Fine… but I'll only release the jutsu once I know you're okay."

I nodded, listening to their retreating footsteps.

I just hoped my plan was worth it.

**=Gaara=**

He hadn't meant to do it.

He hadn't meant to injure her, not that badly.

It was shock. Her actions, they'd shocked him so much that he'd reacted violently. He wasn't used to people doing what she'd done. In fact, she had to be the first person to have ever done so.

But now, that girl, the girl whose name she didn't even know… she was lying on the floor of the hospital room, bleeding heavily. She didn't even seem to be alive.

Gaara, with eyes wide, stared at the body in front of him, his sand retreating back into the gourd as he stared. Her dark hair was scattered around her as she gasped for breath.

He didn't move at all, not even as her two friends ran in, that green-suited ninja from before following.

He didn't react as they carried her out, bringing her to her own room of the hospital or as he was escorted out as well. He stood in the dark corner of the room, watching as the blond and the pineapple-head leaned against the wall, both clearly worried. The green shinobi was explaining what had happened to the nurse and to several other shinobi that he recognized as ANBU. But all the while, Gaara just stood there, watching the girl.

She was coming around, bandages wrapped around her torso and her head. She looked like she was in bad shape.

The worst part was that Gaara didn't even remember doing that much damage to her.

"Hey." He finally reacted, looking up to the stern face of a Leaf ANBU. "Did you do this to her?"

Gaara didn't reply.

The ANBU growled and shook the young shinobi a bit. A weak, frail voice came from the bed. The voice's words startled everyone in the room.

"He didn't do this."

Even Gaara was shocked.

Kayuki was staring at the ceiling. "I came here right after training. I thought I healed my wounds well enough, but when I was talking to Gaara, I walked around a little and accidentally reopened the cuts when I tripped."

Her explanation was plausible. But it made no sense. The darker-haired Genin seemed to notice this.

"You tripped over air?" he asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

She shook her head, wincing as she did so. "I'm… I'm just a little clumsy. I can trip over anything. Including the leg of a bed."

As if that made everything better, the green Jounin nodded. "This is definitely possible. Perhaps her youth just made her far too excited at the prospect of speaking with a handsome young man."

There was silence.

Kayuki laughed weakly. "Maybe… But you know, your theories are definitely a bit out there, Guy-sensei."

At this, Guy frowned. "But Kayuki… you realize that you won't be able to participate in the finals tomorrow, at least not with your injuries."

She nodded, smiling slightly. "I get it. I don't mind, Guy-sensei. I was pitted against Shikamaru. I was going to drop out anyways… I mean… I know I'm still not strong enough to become a Chunin."

At this, Gaara turned away and began to leave. He felt the eyes of everyone else in the room afterwards.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

Despite protests from the nurses in the hospital, I managed to convince them that I was well enough to go out and watch the Chunin finals.

The first match was Naruto, my teammate and friend, versus Neji, the person who I'd known since we were both little. I didn't want either of them to lose, but I knew that both of them were so stubborn that they would both refuse to give up so easily, even in the face of death or total defeat.

But I was worried that Neji would absolutely crush Naruto.

He was more experienced and much more knowledgeable on the jutsus that Naruto knew. But his views on fate were very much what would make him more vulnerable. I knew that he'd already counted Naruto out.

Naruto would have to show him otherwise.

As the candidates gathered, everyone was there except for Sasuke. And myself. I wondered what had happened to Sasuke.

The rest of the candidates cleared out, but Naruto and Neji stayed behind. Naruto was a wild card, one who was completely crazy. Neji, however, was always calm, cool, and collected, knowing just what to do in the face of an adversary.

I was sitting in the back row, when someone placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see a masked figure. It was an ANBU Black Ops. "Shh. It's just me." That voice was familiar… "It's Kabuto. Stay quiet."

My eyes went wide. "What… what are you doing here, Kabuto? I thought you had to leave…?"

He muttered, "No. I came back. But you have to leave now. Get out of here while you still can. This place… it's going to become a battlefield." His words made me begin to shake. "So leave. Before you become a casualty, too."

"Kabuto…"

He shushed me once more by interrupting me. "Just trust me. Before the final match, you should get out of here."

I frowned, but nodded. "I'll do my best… promise."

Seemingly satisfied with my reply, Kabuto slipped off somewhere as I frowned again, biting my lip. The match was just starting, neither boy making a move. As the match started slowly, it quickly heated up.

Naruto went in for an attack, no tricks and no games. Neji was simply playing around, he was dodging and blocking all of Naruto's attempts at a physical blow. The two almost looked like they were dancing.

That is, until Neji struck Naruto with a, what would be, perhaps fatal blow.

It'd almost killed Hinata, but what it would do to Naruto…

He fell to the ground, holding the place where he'd been struck. Neji was still playing with his prey, taunting him. Yet Naruto, the stubborn shinobi, was just getting serious as well.

He summoned four shadow clones, all drawing kunai. The five Naruto prepared for an attack, Neji easily deflecting most of them, but in a split second, Naruto seemed to have gotten a good, clean hit in.

Neji was stronger than that, though, his Taijutsu alone knocking out two of Naruto's shadow clones and his Byakugan assisting him in defeating the other two. The real Naruto was the only one left.

And then he was off, preaching about fate once more.

I sighed. I wanted to scream at him each time that he began speaking about the fixed level of destiny. If everyone had a fixed level, then that meant that I was also stuck where I was. But I knew, deep inside, that if anyone could fix his broken way of seeing the world, it was Naruto.

He really didn't know when to give up.

His response was another Shadow Clone Jutsu, summoning up a few dozen Naruto shadow clones.

Gritting my teeth and clenching my fists, I willed Naruto to find a way to defeat Neji, to show him that destiny wasn't always set in stone.

Even Neji couldn't see past Naruto's techniques, fooling the Hyuuga into thinking that one of the Naruto clones was the real thing. Neji fell for it, and fell right into the trap Naruto had set for him.

But Neji was just proving a bit too much for Naruto, using a defensive jutsu, known as Rotation, to blow back both the Naruto's that had leapt at him. Naruto continued to use his Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Time and time again, Rotation kept defeating the clones, no matter how many Naruto threw at him.

I winced as the battle continued, Neji walking all over the poor blond boy. Using the Eight Trigrams, he continued to bat back Naruto, attacking all of his chakra points. I gaped, standing straight up from my seat and wincing in pain.

"Naruto!"

There was silence.

But Naruto didn't give up just yet. There was still some fight left in him. I didn't know what made him so strong, what gave him the strength to still be able to stand on his own two feet.

Maybe it was those who never gave up.

And so, Naruto didn't give up either.

The stadium watched in silence as Naruto struggled to his feet, defeating all the odds that were stacked against him.

I smiled broadly and cheered, "Way to go, Naruto!"

The two boys, both equally hotheaded and stubborn, continued the match with yelling, Neji finally admitting that he was part of the Hyuuga family that wasn't the Main Branch, and showed his Curse Mark, the one branded onto his forehead since he was only a child.

He told the story of how he'd received his curse mark, the story of why he'd been the one branded, and why he held such hatred toward the Main Branch of the Hyuuga Clan.

Neji was raised to _protect_ Hinata, but after his father was murdered because of his uncle's mistake, for his uncle. He continued to blame the Main Branch for his father's death. That was the reason that he turned away from the Hyuuga Clan, why he held so much hatred for his family.

It was why he believed in destiny… and the idea that destiny could not be altered.

But then, there was Naruto, who was the very antithesis to that belief. He'd been born, and then shunned as he grew up. He'd grown up as a failure, a class clown If he had been born and raised that way, than wouldn't that be his destiny? Yet there he was, standing in that arena.

He'd passed his graduation exam and become a Genin. He'd become stronger with every mission he took on, with every time he pushed himself. He'd gained friends that would stand by him no matter what he did.

Naruto Uzumaki was living proof that destiny could be changed.

And so, he went on to prove that. He showed Neji that destiny could be fought, could be changed according to will, if it was strong enough. Even after being victim to Neji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Naruto stood up to Neji and fought him tooth and nail to show Neji that he was wrong.

Naruto went in fighting… and he came out a victor.

He'd defeated Neji, something that the latter had said was impossible due to destiny, but somehow, he'd overcome the blocks that Neji had put on his chakra… and he'd come out on top.

I was… proud. I wanted to see Naruto win, even though I cared about Neji. Perhaps Neji would have more faith in me now that he was defeated by someone he'd deemed a failure, a loser, in a battle that meant everything.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

Even though it was the day of the matches, that didn't matter much to Sasuke.

He had to get strong enough to ensure that he would win. And he _still_ hadn't mastered that move that Kakashi had begun to teach him. Not to mention the fact that he was still recuperating from his stint that put him in the hospital in the first place.

Pushing himself had only made it worse.

But he'd just about done it. He'd gotten lucky with the technique, considering he'd been blessed with a specific kekkei genkai, the Sharingan. It allowed him to copy the technique that Kakashi showed him, although he'd definitely needed to work on the skills.

But after weeks of training non-stop, Sasuke had done it.

He'd mastered Chidori, the Lightning Cutter technique.

Out of breath, but clearly proud of himself, Sasuke grinned. He was more than prepared for his match.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

Because of the popular response that the match up of Sasuke Uchiha against Gaara of the Desert had gotten, the Hokage postponed it until after the last few matches were completed. Even so, the next few matches had been a waste.

After Gaara and Sasuke's match was postponed, Kankuro and Shino Aburame's match was next. Kankuro forfeited against Shino, meaning the bug-controlling shinobi was moving on. Almost immediately after, Temari and Shikamaru Nara faced off in the arena with Shikamaru becoming the victor after a long, grueling match.

Finally, the most awaited match of the entire Chunin Exams was there. The time for Sasuke to meet Gaara in the arena had come.

But still, Sasuke wasn't there.

He only had a few minutes before he would be disqualified for not arriving when his name was called. I frowned, biting my lip in fear of his disqualification. Looking around, I waited.

He wouldn't miss this match for the world, even if he didn't know who he was going up against. But after he disappeared from the hospital, his whereabouts had been unknown. Not even the ANBU Black Ops had been able to track him down.

… come to think of it, Kakashi-sensei hadn't contacted anyone, either.

Maybe… they were together.

As if on cue, to confirm my thoughts, the gates to the arena opened, revealing the Sharingan-bearing, black-haired, stubborn as all get out teammate of mine, Sasuke Uchiha. Standing with him was my manipulative, intelligent, and all-together amazing sensei, Kakashi Hatake.

They'd made it, and just in time.

And so, the match started.

Both Gaara and Sasuke were giving it their all, going at each other with everything they had.

But who would come out on top was anyone's guess.

**=Gaara=**

Even while he was fighting, the flashbacks kept overtaking his mind, dangling the memories of emotions that he didn't understand, feelings he couldn't quite place… his mind kept hitting the rewind button.

It felt like torture.

He remembered his mother. He remembered how the green Jounin saved that green boy, even after the green boy had failed. He remembered how the two boys and the little girl had protected the green boy against his sand. He remembered how that same little girl had wrapped her arms around him in what he'd heard was called a hug.

She hadn't been afraid of him. She'd walked right up to him, even though she knew he was dangerous. Yet she'd told him something, just before his sand had ripped her skin open and almost broken several bones in her body.

That girl… she'd told him, "I'm not afraid of you. You're still human."

Just those words, being spoken from a few inches away, had made him acknowledge the heart that beat in his chest. For the first time in years, someone had seen him as a person, not just as a monster or a tool or a killer. She'd seen him as a human, which no one else seemed to be able to see.

It took a pre-teen girl to see through the walls Gaara had built up around himself and it took a hug for her to break through them.

But it didn't change the fact that Gaara still could only find one purpose in his life. That purpose was still to kill others, to find the deaths of others and perhaps to end their lives himself.

Sasuke Uchiha… was just another person with a life that needed to be ended. Even if he had to murder the boy in cold blood in front of the entire stadium of people, in front of his own father, Gaara had no qualms about that. He'd gladly do so if that was the only way to end the Uchiha's life.

There was nothing that Gaara was afraid of. Not when it came to death.

So on he fought, attempting to destroy Sasuke Uchiha with no regrets. But this time, his prey fought back, not allowing Gaara to even catch him. It irritated the Sand Nin to no end, trying to catch something that could continue to pass him by with such speed and grace… even the power in that blur was irritating to Gaara.

And so, Gaara listened to the Shukkaku.

His sand surrounded him, cocooning him in its security. Everyone had to stop and stare at what was happening. Gaara could feel the one-tail's chakra flowing through his body, empowering him beyond his wildest imagination. He chuckled darkly, glaring down at the rest of the world.

He looked down on everyone. That was what he did best.

Gaara knew he was better than everyone who doubted him.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

I shot up from my seat, gasping as Gaara retreated into his shield made completely from his chakra-infused sand. I knew, at that moment, that Sasuke would have to use everything that he had, absolutely everything, just to penetrate his defenses.

And Sasuke did.

Somehow, he'd learned Chidori, the Lightning Cutter, a technique I'd only ever seen two people use and actually be able to pull it off. Both of them were Jounin-level, and Sasuke… he was only a Genin.

The black-haired Leaf shinobi charged forward, Chidori sparking in his hand. I could see the determination on his face, the way he was going all the way out with this jutsu.

Quicker than I could blink, Sasuke's chakra-infused Lightning Cutter slammed into the sphere of sand, which defended Gaara… but it didn't keep Sasuke from getting through. I smirked a little as Sasuke grinned. He'd made his way past the seemingly impenetrable defenses of sand, created by Gaara and defeated by no one. He'd even managed to _wound_ someone who had seemed to be invincible to all types of wounds.

"Blood! My blood!" I heard.

It was Gaara's voice, shrieking loudly from within the prison of sand. I saw Sasuke cringe and rip his hand from the sand, his arm now injured and shaking. Gaara was still going strong, even after the Chidori had given him a good, clean hit.

The sand shell melded away, revealing Gaara, standing there with a blood dripping from the large gash on his shoulder. He looked murderous, even now, as Sasuke was standing in front of him.

Within the next few moments, something strange happened.

Feathers started raining down upon the stadium. I didn't know what it was. My eyes were transfixed by the soft feathers that were falling from the sky. Even though I didn't know what was happening, I couldn't look away.

As soon as I knew this, my eyes were already dropping closed.

It was then, that I knew… that something bad was happening.

But by that time, it was too late, and I'd already succumbed to the drowsiness that attempted to pull my eyes closed.

**=Orochimaru=**

Finally. The time had come for the Invasion of Konoha. He was prepared to slaughter the Third Hokage, his old teacher. But first, he had something else to do. Something very important that could no longer wait.

The Snake Sannin slithered through the Leaf Village, unnoticed by its sleeping inhabitants. He almost laughed; it'd worked like a charm. Everything had been far too easy to execute. Kabuto had done his work well.

Perhaps… he would allow Kabuto to be the one to help continue his line.

Soon after he'd reached the stadium, still going unnoticed, his eyes searched for the young girl that he'd asked Kabuto to keep an eye on.

Her dark hair came into view. She'd fallen asleep, just like the rest of her village. The Sannin gently knelt down, picking the girl up in his arms. She was small, fragile, like she would break if not handled with the gentlest touch that Orochimaru could muster.

Surprisingly, that was very gentle.

He pushed back some of the hair that fell into her peaceful, pale face, a small smile coming over his face, showing how satisfied he was with his work.

Her name was Kayuki Akane. She was beautiful, strong, and intelligent. She looked just like her mother, and, according to the information that Kabuto had gained during the Exams, was every bit as strong.

Orochimaru's blood ran through her veins. Of course she had been born strong.

He chuckled darkly and disappeared, the girl still in his arms. Kabuto would take good care of her. After all, he seemed to have a soft spot for her, one gained over such a short period of time.

* * *

**Sucky reveal, but it was necessary. The entire point of the reveal will be... well, revealed... within the entire rest of the story. I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I really hope that I kept most of the characters in character.**

**Also, I really liked the idea of someone just giving Gaara a hug. I just felt as if someone shouldn't have had to hurt him like Naruto did to snap him out of such a state and into a mindset that was so violent and saddening at the same time. I feel as if someone had just given him a hug or any sort of physical contact, he wouldn't have been such an ass or he'd at least been thrown into his own thoughts. It's probably not a great idea, seeing as Kayuki got badly injured 'cause of it. But there's them breaks.**

**Here comes one of my personal favorite chapters, next up, when I really begin to exploit the characters and make them more human than shinobi. I hope you're still with me in this instance, because everything is beginning to get rather wonky, isn't it?**

**Oh well.**

**Please leave a review, they make me very happy!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Naruto: Lost in the Dark  
Mission 7: when yesterday became today**

* * *

**=Hatake Kakashi=**

It was over twenty years ago, just a few days after he'd graduated from the Academy, that he'd met _her_. She was just another one of those girls that he thought that he knew.

She was pretty, so she had to be shallow and stuck up. She was smart, so she had to be another one of those know-it-alls. She was physical, so she had to exercise and go on a hundred different diets a year.

Oh, he was wrong.

Her name was Shiori. Shiori Aoba. She was a year younger than he was, and she was starting the Academy when he had graduated. She had long, blonde hair and the most stunning crystal blue eyes. She had a laugh like bells, and she had a smile that could make the sun pale in comparison.

And Kakashi had been one of the many boys who fell at her feet. But she practically attached herself to his side, becoming one of his closest friends and greatest confidants. The two grew up together, Kakashi helping Shiori train after she got out of the Academy each day.

He'd been the lucky one of those many boys that she'd fallen for. Shiori chose him. She made that quite clear when she graduated, when she was twelve. He still remembered her exact words.

"I'm twelve, Kakashi. But we… we grew up together. You're my best friend. And… and I will always keep a special place in my heart just for you."

Those words made him happy.

After that, the two spent every moment together that they could spare. Of course, Kakashi became an ANBU pretty quick, but was put on a team with Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara, under Minato Namikaze. Then, Shiori was placed on a team as well, led by her older sister, Kiku Aoba, with two other Genin, Ryotaro Kiryu and Nobuyuki Okamoto.

They were then separated for a majority of their time. Kakashi was always off on high-ranking missions, while Shiori was busy training to become a Chunin and become stronger.

One day, he got a letter from Shiori when he came home. It'd told him that her parents wanted him to come for dinner.

So he did.

And there, at dinner with Shiori, he met her two siblings, Kiku Aoba, who was in her mid twenties, and Mamoru Aoba, who was only seventeen, but had already become an ANBU.

Kiku, as he found out, was considered a genius for her age. She was a Jounin who was able to create her own jutsus by releasing chakra from her body and using it to manipulate the world around her. She'd created dozens, but she'd never taught any other person how to use them, not even her siblings.

As for Mamoru, he thought that Mamoru Aoba was far too soft to be a shinobi, especially one who had to do so much, like the ANBU. The older boy had hated killing, hated blood, and hated war. But he wanted to protect his family.

Still, he'd bonded with the family, very happy with his newfound place in the small family. He'd even began to bond with Shiori's parents, Hiro, her father, and Hana, her mother. They'd both been civilians, but had brought three wonderful ninja into the world.

They were the closest thing Kakashi ever had to family, especially after his father had committed suicide years earlier.

**=Orochimaru=**

Of course, Orochimaru remembered Kiku Aoba, the young genius kunoichi. He remembered her just as well as Kakashi remembered his lover, Shiori. No human could forget the person they loved. And, as much as he denied his humanity, the Snake Sannin was still very much a human being.

He'd wanted her to live forever, live with him.

But human life was fragile, one of the many things that Orochimaru hated about the human race. Kiku was still human as well, leaving room for death to grab a hold of her and steal her away from him, just like it'd done his parents.

She died giving birth to their beautiful daughter twelve years ago, only a few weeks before the Nine Tailed Fox attacked Konoha. Orochimaru, in a fit of rage, continued his experiments, not wanting them to fail now that she was dead.

He didn't even visit his daughter after she was born. All he knew was that she looked just like her mother. Orochimaru wasn't even able to handle that, not at all. All he really knew was her name. Kiku had decided to name her Kayuki. It meant "Snow Flower," a name that both Kiku and Orochimaru had agreed on months before she'd been born.

Soon afterwards, Orochimaru left Konoha, abandoning all the memories along with his village. He wanted to leave everything that he'd ever felt behind. He wanted to become immortal, and to do that… he couldn't feel anything anymore.

His daughter had later been adopted by Kiku's family, and her care was given to Kiku's younger brother, Mamoru. He was a former ANBU, leaving the Black Ops, instead deciding to become a regular Jounin, to teach a team of new Genin like his older sister had done.

Orochimaru wanted to detest Mamoru, but found Kayuki growing up happily. Her last name was Akane, not Aoba. Kiku had wanted their daughter to grow up with Orochimaru's last name, but he'd revealed that his mother's maiden name was Akane.

If she'd kept his last name, he knew that his daughter would've been tormented like crazy growing up.

Only Mamoru and Kiku's family knew that she had any connection to Orochimaru, let alone shared the same blood as him. It seemed that Mamoru knew this, and so, gave Kayuki the last name "Akane."

As he kept going, his mind kept flashing back to Kiku. All the memories they shared together, and even the ones that he wished that he never saw. From the day they made love to the day that she died, his mind kept insisting that he remembered all of those memories.

Half the time, it was complete and utter torture, worse than any Genjutsu that anyone could produce. The other half of the time, it was what drove him to make himself better and stronger.

And now, he'd returned to Konoha, twelve years later, for the revenge that he so deserved. He hated Konoha now. It held nothing but bad memories for him. It held the memories of his parents deaths and the death of his lover and the single most important thing to him… Kiku Aoba.

But he'd also put his most trusted servant, Kabuto Yakushi, on the mission of looking after his daughter. She'd grown up well. He wanted to reconnect with the missing part of his life once more.

He'd missed twelve years of his daughter's life. He was no longer going to miss any more.

The Snake Sannin had kidnapped his daughter, taken her back. She was now his once more… no one could change that. Or he _would _kill them. He would murder them, giving them a cruel and bloody end.

He cradled his small and fragile, yet still strong and beautiful, daughter in his arms as he approached Kabuto, who still stood in his ANBU mask. He held out her sleeping form to his teenage follower, who gently took her, holding her close to his chest.

"Keep her safe," he hissed, the tone in his voice barely concealing the hidden threat. Kabuto heard that threat and nodded warily, his grip on the girl tightening once more.

The silver-haired shinobi nodded solemnly, replying with every bit of seriousness in his tone, "I will."

Orochimaru nodded, his stare still piercing the young boy. Kabuto showed no signs of fear in the face of the Snake. It was that expression, that stoic expression that Kabuto had as he held his master's daughter, that proved to Orochimaru that his pupil would protect his daughter, even if it killed him. As long as Kayuki lived, the Snake didn't really care about Kabuto's life.

**=Uchiha Sasuke=**

"_What if I killed everyone you cared about? All those precious people? What if they were gone, just like that?!"_

"_You're far too late, Sasuke. Those people… all my precious people are already dead."_

Sasuke thought no one else knew how he felt, yet Kakashi had lost everyone. Both shinobi had lost everyone that they had ever cared about. He knew now that he was not alone in that feeling, the dreadful feeling of having lost everyone who meant something to someone…

It was a painful feeling, a stab to the chest.

There was nothing that anyone could say or do otherwise. The wounds would never seal themselves, not if that hurt was still there after all that time. Years had passed, but still, he felt bitter about his loss.

Damaged people grew attached to damaged people. They formed a deeper relationship than those who had grown up all fine and dandy. Maybe that was why Sasuke had always had a deeper connection with Naruto and Kakashi than he had with Sakura.

The damage done in childhood years stayed strong.

And then, there was Kayuki. She must've been damaged, too. Or Sasuke wouldn't have felt that kinship with her.

Perhaps that kinship was why he was chasing the Sand Siblings. Perhaps that was why he was fighting so hard for the village.

He wouldn't let anyone he cared about die anymore. Sasuke was done being a victim. He was done losing his most precious people.

Urging himself to his feet, he rushed after the three Sand Nin, one of them severely injured from the previous battle. Faster and faster, he went, flying straight out of the arena and into the forest behind the arena, running through the woods. He had to catch up to the Sand Nin. That was his only thought at that moment.

To fight for the village. To fight for his friends.

**=Hatake Kakashi=**

They were stopped. The Genjutsu had put most of most of the stadium's inhabitants in a deep, dreamless sleep. When Kakashi looked around, he could only see himself, Guy, and Sakura, along with a few other shinobi from the Leaf. That was irritating.

Of course, as they rushed to assist the Hokage, they were stopped buy an enemy, who had disguised themselves as an ANBU Black Ops shinobi.

Almost immediately, Kakashi knew who he was.

Outside, the battle had become an all out war. Every shinobi available was fighting against the enemy, the teamed villages of Sand and Sound. It was a rousing cry to Kakashi, one that was familiar. He knew that casualties were already happening.

He would not allow his students to be another name on the list of killed-in-action ninja.

"Kakashi, look over there. He's inside the barrier!" Guy ordered, tension clear in his voice.

Following his friend's gaze, Kakashi nearly shook in anger and anticipation. "It's him. Orochimaru," he nearly growled, his fists clenching. That only confirmed what he'd already known.

He leapt into action against the enemy ninja, other Leaf shinobi coming from all other directions, joining the battle in the stands. Genma and Baki stood on the field, each staring the other down. It was another signal that war had approached Konoha once again.

All the while, the disguised ANBU stood still, another cloaked figure hidden behind him.

Kakashi and Guy stood back to back, continuing to take out the enemies and lower their numbers. Guy and Kakashi alone were worth thousands of other ninja. He knew what he did, and he was back in action.

Meanwhile, in the back of his mind, he worried for the Hokage, fighting against one of his students, Orochimaru.

But the battle continued… both for Kakashi and for the Hokage.

They took out the enemy ninja, one by one, keeping their eyes on the barrier that contained the Hokage and Orochimaru all the while.

Backing up next to Sakura, Kakashi demanded, "Try to break the Genjutsu on Shikamaru and Naruto. I know Naruto will be excited. I'm assigning you guys the first mission you've had in a while." He grinned behind his mask. "Just tell Naruto to be careful. This is the first A-Ranked mission you guys will take on since the Land of the Waves."

He heard Sakura gasp, but didn't acknowledge it.

He flew back into battle, his weapons out as he sent Pakkun, his ninken, with Sakura. Kunai flew and jutsus were used upon the enemy and upon each other. Guy and Kakashi quickly explained the mission.

Find Sasuke. Stop Sasuke. Find somewhere safe. Wait for more orders.

Four simple steps.

The young Genin and the dog leapt from an opening that Guy created after knocking an enemy shinobi through the concrete wall. Kakashi didn't waste anymore time, jumping back into battle.

He didn't even notice Shino as the young bug-master disappeared.

**=Orochimaru=**

The battle against his former teacher, Sarutobi, the third Hokage, continued. Orochimaru would never admit it, but the old man was good. Although it would've been much too simple.

Although his battle was of taunts and of chakra, he was still, out of the corner of his eye, watching where Kabuto was standing with his daughter.

He growled as he leapt up again, continuing the battle with a continued ferocity that only another Sanin or the Hokage could match.

He was prepared for anything.

**=Hatake Kakashi=**

He watched as the other cloaked figure sat up. He raised a kunai in his own defense. "Ka… Kakashi… sensei…?" a weak voice asked. The silver-haired Jounin almost dropped his kunai in surprise. The hood fell from the figure's head, revealing their long, dark hair and surprised black eyes.

Kayuki…

The ANBU quickly turned and scooped her up in his arms, wasting no time with words. "Wait!" Kakashi yelled, an angry growl in his voice. Not turning, the hooded figure leapt from the rails, dropping into the arena.

Kayuki struggled in the ANBU's arms, turning and yelling, "Kakashi-sensei! Help!" Her voice was shrill as she clung to the ANBU for dear life, screaming as her captor stole her away and she dropped with him. "Let me go! Stop it, put me down!" she screamed, struggling even harder against her captor's strong hold around her small body.

"I'm sorry," the ANBU apologized lowly, his hold on the girl tightening around her waist. She frowned and continued her futile struggle.

Kakashi let out a growl, leaping over the rails after the ANBU and Kayuki. Guy followed with no hesitation, the two of them facing the ANBU who held the girl in his arms.

Still brandishing his weapon, he stopped in front of the ANBU, his one visible eye sparkling with dangerous anger. He gritted his teeth and ground out, "Let her go. Just put the girl down and walk away." He paused for dramatic effect. "Or I'll have no choice but to kill you."

His voice was but a low growl, fiercer than he'd ever sounded. The ANBU just shook his head, shielding Kayuki from Kakashi's view. Kakashi growled again, a feral sound. "I'm afraid," the ANBU started, "I cannot do that. Kayuki belongs to Lord Orochimaru. There is nothing anyone can do to change that fact."

"She doesn't belong to anyone, especially not Orochimaru."

The ANBU's voice was filled with anger as he sharply replied, "Oh, but that's not true. Her life pales in significance to Lord Orochimaru's, but he insists on keeping her alive." The mask on his face gave nothing away, even as he carelessly tossed a kunai at Kakashi, who dodged flawlessly. Kakashi just stepped forward again, Guy preparing for battle behind him.

Kakashi grinned, although his mask hid his grin quite well. "I'm sure that she's worth a lot to Orochimaru, but you're not too willing to give her up either, are you, Kabuto?"

He heard the masked figure's breath hitch and then, he chuckled. One hand flew to the mask as Kabuto removed it, his laugh dark and, unfortunately, corrupted by the dark power that Orochimaru held over the young, talented Genin. "So, Kakashi Hatake, you knew this entire time, did you?"

"You were teamed up with Kayuki during the second part of the Chunin Exams. I watched your behavior around her. Once you revealed yourself and tried to kill Sasuke, I tried to figure out your motives. Kayuki was the only one you really acted genuinely happy around," Kakashi revealed, his kunai twitching in his hand. He was absolutely dying to embed it in Kabuto's gut.

The silver-haired shinobi just gave another dark chuckle, his mask dropping to the ground. From in his arms, Kakashi saw Kayuki making a few discreet hand signs. He then knew that he had to keep Kabuto talking, keep him from noticing what Kayuki was doing.

Kabuto suddenly shrugged nonchalantly, uncaring of Kakashi's words. "I suppose so. It's actually hard not to be genuine around this girl. Kakashi, you should know that better than anyone. Weren't you in love with her aunt?"

The Jounin froze, his fist tightening around the hilt of his kunai, another feral growl being ripped from his throat. "Don't you dare talk about Shiori." Kabuto grinned; he'd found Kakashi Hatake's soft spot.

He almost wanted to hit himself for revealing his weakness to his enemy so easily.

Even Guy looked at his friend and rival in astonishment. Kakashi had never revealed his affection for the younger girl, not even when she was alive. Sure, they had been close friends, but Kakashi had never openly admitted to anyone that he'd fallen in love with her. Shiori's crush was obvious, but Kakashi had ensured that neither of them were obvious, should an enemy shinobi use them against each other.

Only Shiori and Kakashi knew.

But clearly, somehow Kabuto had found out about their relationship. Kakashi had never told anyone. That meant that Shiori spilled the beans before… before she left.

Kakashi grinned dryly, his voice dripping with venom. "So, who did you find out from, Kabuto? Who did you have to torture for that bit of vital information?" he drawled, preparing to launch his attack as Kayuki slid her hands back into her lap, finishing her hand signs.

His grin only growing in both size and malice, Kabuto replied, "Oh, I didn't torture anyone for that specific piece of information. See, you remember Shiori's sister, Kiku, right?"

Kakashi froze; Kiku Aoba, a genius jutsu inventor. She'd achieved Jounin almost as fast as Kakashi had, but she and Shiori were pretty far apart in age, almost fifteen years, give or take a few. He knew that Shiori was close with Kiku. They were more like best friends than two sisters.

"So… who did Kiku tell?" he drawled again.

Kabuto once again grinned wider. "Lady Kiku and Lord Orochimaru… they were in love. Kiku had Kayuki. And then, she died."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw the small, fragile Kayuki freeze, her hands stopping and her body beginning to shake. He saw that she was about to start crying again. He let out a growl and nodded to her.

"Now, Kayuki!" he yelled, his voice rising above Kabuto's cruel laughter. Kayuki snapped out of her trance and held out her hands.

"Fox Fire Jutsu!" she yelled.

At the base of Kabuto's cloak, a small, fiery fox appeared, mewling. It melted away into the black fabric, setting it on fire. The fire spread quickly, eating away at the cloak. The silver-haired Genin looked down and, with a cry, leapt back, dropping Kayuki. She let out a yelp before being swept up in Kakashi's arms. Kabuto had abandoned his cloak and spat obscenities at the Leaf shinobi and kunoichi.

She smiled up weakly at Kakashi, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "T-Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," she muttered, her fingers clutching at his flack vest. He nodded before kneeling. She stood shakily, one hand on his shoulder so she could support herself.

Kakashi stood, keeping one of his hands on her arm to steady her. "Keep safe, Kayuki. Now that you're here, we'll handle this idiot."

From a few feet away, Kabuto let out a bark of harsh laughter. "Ha! Like you could kill me! You failed once, White Fang of Konoha, and you'll fail again!"

The two shinobi exchanged glares before leaping into action. They didn't even bother with jutsus. They were just using their kunai and their fists. They weren't just trying to kill one another, the two were attempting to do as much damage as possible. Only when the other surrendered would they let up and then, only then, would they let the other die.

Kakashi knew; he would make Kabuto's death slow and painful.

He normally hated using torture just to cause his opponent to feel pain, to torment them, but he could make a special exception for Kabuto. That man had attempted to murder Sasuke in cold blood and had then had the nerve to kidnap Kayuki from under his nose.

The White Fang of Konoha was back, and he was angrier than most had seen him in years.

Sparing a glance back at Kayuki, who was hiding behind Guy, the older shinobi using his masterful skills in Taijutsu to protect her, Kakashi saw that she had both her hands clutched together, like she was praying.

He then looked back to Kabuto. The battle continued, the clanging of their weapons meeting ringing through the stadium. Finally, Kabuto got a hit in. Kakashi was knocked right out of the sky, his body slamming painfully into the ground. He struggled to his feet, only to feel the cool metal of a kunai at his neck. He grimaced and looked up at Kabuto, who had a rather sickly satisfied smirk on his face.

"Well…?" he demanded. "If you're going to kill me, you may as well get it over with now." Kakashi's voice was once more venomous.

Kabuto's sick smile grew again, proud of how he'd taken down the White Fang in a battle that the White Fang had needed to win. "Oh, believe me, Kakashi, I will. But first, I'll torture you, inside and out. Then, when you're on your knees, begging me for mercy, begging for me to end your pitiful life, I will. But until then, you'll be feeling pain."

He raised the kunai, preparing to make the first cut into Kakashi. The White Fang didn't flinch. He didn't look away. His eye was trained on the kunai, waiting for it to slash into him.

"No!" a shrill voice yelled from a few feet away.

Out of nowhere, a small blur tackled Kabuto, knocking him to the ground. A splash of blood splattered Kakashi's face, the crimson liquid beginning to trail down his cheek. His eyes widened as he saw Kayuki, straddling Kabuto's hips, his kunai embedded in her side.

Even Kabuto looked horrified at what he'd done.

Blood spurted from her side as he yanked the weapon out. She coughed, her voice painfully harsh, and more of that blood, her blood, trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Kabuto sat up, catching her as she weakly bled out. The wound wasn't fatal. At least, if Kakashi or Kabuto had been the ones to receive that wound, it wouldn't be. But Kakashi knew that Kayuki had a weak body. Her skin bruised easily and her wounds bled more than others.

If she wasn't healed quickly, she would bleed out and she would die.

It was that simple.

"Kayu! Stay with me, Kayu!" Kakashi snapped out of his trance, watching Kabuto kneel over the girl's bleeding form, the Sound shinobi seemingly panicked by her wounds. She was sputtering and coughing, her eyes trained on the blue sky above her as she huffed, gasping for whatever air she could get.

Kakashi scrambled over to the pair of shinobi, putting his hand on Kayuki's. He could feel a sharp glare on him from the man next to him, but he ignored it. All that mattered was Kayuki's life.

He muttered, "She's going into shock. She's becoming a vegetable!" His voice was hoarse from the shocking turn of events that had befallen. While Kakashi and Kabuto were in a temporary truce, both trying to ensure that Kayuki would survive her wounds, Guy and the large group of Sound ninja were still doing battle, clashing in the background.

"I can try to heal her, but I have to stop her bleeding first." Kabuto's hands began to glow with a green aura, signaling the healing jutsu that he was beginning to use. "Keep her calm," the younger shinobi ordered, placing both of his hands over the stab wound.

"Not going to be hard," Kakashi muttered. But he did so, holding onto Kayuki's hand and letting her squeeze it when she felt the pain of the wound in her side. She was whimpering pitifully, her eyes boring into his one visible eye.

She looked so much like Shiori did before her death. Shiori had that same fear in her eyes, fear of death and fear of leaving those she cared for most. Kakashi had held her hand as she bled out onto the forest floor, the life slowly leaving her. Although she was terrified of the fate that awaited her, she had accepted it. She'd just wanted Kakashi to keep a hold of her hand and wait with her until the end. That look, the same one held by her niece over ten years later, more than he would ever care to admit, would be what would break Kakashi.

He kept a hold of the girl's hand as his enemy from only moments ago attempted to heal the young girl, his hands continuing to glow. "I'm almost done," the younger shinobi reassured Kakashi. "Keep her calm for just a little while longer." Kakashi nodded, not breaking eye contact with Kayuki.

She was still breathing, panting heavily. Her eyes were no longer wide with fear, but they still shone with a sparkle of terror of what was to come. Kakashi's visible eye widened as hers slowly closed and her head lolled to the side.

"Kayuki!" he yelled, grasping her hand a little tighter. He felt Kabuto tense next to him, but the Genin continued his healing on the black-haired girl.

**=Akane Kayuki=**

It was very dark, wherever I was. Perhaps I was dead. Perhaps I was just in the back of my own mind, in the darkest place of my heart. But all I knew was that there was no light in that place.

Wherever I was, it was cold. It was dark. And I was alone.

Shivering a little, I called, "Hello?!" Only my echo came back, returning my desperate call. "Is there anybody out there?!" Once more, my echo was the one that returned from the darkness.

There was a moment of silence, in which I struggled to accept that I was the only one in that world at that time. I had to understand why I was there, I wanted to know. I trembled a little in the place that I stood, turning frantically. I wanted to find any sign of life in the dark, lifeless world.

Suddenly, there was a voice, one that was warm and familiar.

"Kayuki."

I turned to see a man, who stood a few feet away from me with a smile. He was transparent, the darkness seeping through his image. He stood with messy, clay red hair and a soft smile, a Jounin flack vest on his figure. He had a short-sleeved shirt underneath, his ANBU Tattoo showing, contrasting against his pale skin. He wore long, black, baggy pants, boots tightening around the bottom half of his legs.

He held a hand out, and my eyes widened. My voice wavered. "Mamoru… you're… you're here…" Mamoru nodded, his look softening and his brown eyes sparkling with pride.

Mamoru Aoba stood before me, five years after his untimely death, protecting me from a group of bandits that had threatened to kill both of us. I almost sobbed, choking back my pained cry and instead staggering forward, falling into his open arms. It was like he'd been waiting for that for a long time.

His arms wrapped around my small form, and he nuzzled my face into his warm chest. "Oh, Kayuki. I'm so very proud of you, my lovely child."

"I missed you… I missed you so much!" I sobbed, clinging onto him even tighter. I didn't want to let go. It'd been years since I was last able to feel his warmth, to feel his arms over my figure. "After you died… I never… I just… I'm so sorry, Mamoru… You died because of me!"

He shook his head, squeezing me tighter. "No, Kayuki. Stop blaming yourself. That blame, that's what's keeping you from becoming stronger. You're scared that if you become too strong, you'll end up hurting those you care about, right?" I just nodded. "But if you stay like this, more will end up dying to protect you," he finished, his voice still soft.

I nodded once more. "I want to protect the people I love, but I can't get any stronger, or I'll become a killer, too," I breathed. "My father… he's… going to kill Sasuke, he's going to kill the entire village and take over our lives."

Mamoru gave a soft frown and pulled away, sitting on the floor of the darkness. I sat with him. He rested his cheek on his hands, his eyes flying deep into his own thoughts. It'd been a long, long time since I'd seen the lost look in his eyes.

"Orochimaru has returned to Konoha, I suppose," he breathed lightly, his eyes narrowing in hatred. "That man is the one who is responsible for your mother's death." My eyes widened. "He's the one responsible for Shiori's death… and, to an extent, he's responsible for mine." He frowned, his eyes going soft once more as they trained themselves on me. "Just be careful. He's powerful, and he's merciless with his power."

I nodded again, my own thoughts consuming my mind. "I don't know what he did to Sasuke, but something happened to connect him to my friends. And Kabuto… he's manipulating Kabuto… I need to help him."

The brunette man's frown grew deeper. "Kabuto Yakushi…? You made a connection with him?" I nodded again, this time in silence. All Mamoru did was frown, and pause for a moment. Then, he opened his mouth and spoke once more. "He's much more powerful than most Chunin, and some Jounin. He's dangerous. Kabuto Yakushi has followed Orochimaru for years."

My eyes widened in horror and disbelief. He'd tricked me. He'd made it look like he was another victim, but he'd been in on it the entire time. It was why we'd had to return from training so soon, and why he seemed hate Konoha at so many times.

"No…" I breathed, feeling tears forming in my eyes once more. I shook my head furiously. My mind just refused to believe that Kabuto had betrayed me. No… I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that Kabuto hadn't ever cared about me. He'd used me for his own selfish ambitions and to help a power-hungry warlord who didn't care about anyone but himself. "That's not…"

Mamoru nodded once more, frowning deeply. I could see those creases on his forehead, the ones that I constantly told him made him look older. "That's why Orochimaru had me killed by those bandits. They weren't… normal bandits. They were a group of highly trained Sound ninja."

I sobbed a little. "Kabuto… he can't be a traitor to the Leaf! He was so… nice to me! He cares about me!" I cried, still refusing to believe that he was the one who had completely discarded my trust. "He… he…"

"He betrayed the Leaf years ago and became a spy for Orochimaru. I found out by accident while tailing him one day… and Kabuto confronted me. He went to his lord and signed my death warrant."

Another sob escaped me.

Orochimaru, my own father, the one who helped me become a part of this shallow, warring world, was responsible for stealing away everyone I had ever begun to love. My mother, the woman who had given birth to me, died. I never even knew her. My aunt, my mother's sister, died over ten years ago, protecting the village. Mamoru, my caretaker and my protector, the one who had practically raised me, had died because he had found out something that Orochimaru didn't want him to know.

Now, he was going to attempt to steal Sasuke away from the village, where he had people who cared about him and who wanted more than anything for him to stay where he was needed. He wanted to take me away from my friends and my grandmother, the only family I had left, because of his desire to see me in his clutches for some reason I couldn't figure out.

"Why…?" I choked out, my words caught in my throat. "Why is he ruining everything that I care about?! Why does he want me so badly?!" I sobbed, clutching my face in my hands, letting my salty tears seep through my fingers.

Running a hand through my hair, Mamoru shushed me. He didn't answer; he just hummed a tune to me as he pulled me to his chest. I clung to him once more, my tears soaking into the green fabric of his vest.

His voice hit my ears. "You need to wake up now, my dear. I love you, Kayuki, I always will. Just make sure you stay safe, too… I'm always with you whenever you need me."

And then there was nothing again.

There was no warmth. There as no light. There was just me and the darkness of my own heart, dragging me back down into nothingness. I was going to be swallowed once again, and I knew it.

I let out one more sob.

"I… Mamoru… I'm sorry, but I'll have to disobey you this once… I know Kabuto still has some good in him."

**=Yakushi Kabuto=**

His mind was completely in a panic. His kunai had embedded itself into Kayuki's side without him realizing. That alone sent him into a craze. He was angry that he failed to protect her. She'd just been trying to save someone she cared about, but he'd tried to stop her.

And so, she'd ended up taking a kunai to the side, and now, she was bleeding out onto the ground of the arena.

Kabuto's hands were glowing, radiating a soft green aura as they pulsed with healing energy from the jutsu he was performing. It was one that would stop Kayuki from bleeding and seal the wound back up.

She coughed a little as the skin sewed itself together over the wound, leaving only a faint, pale scar that would disappear with time.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Kabuto swept Kayuki into his arms, holding her close to his chest. She nuzzled closer to him, one hand still attached to her Jounin teacher's, while the other was unconsciously placed on Kabuto's hand. He squeezed her hand, smiling softly down at her as he did. Her eyes opened slightly.

"Kabuto…"

She muttered his name. He let out another sigh of relief, standing and bringing her with him. Kakashi stood alongside the two of them.

Kakashi looked a bit bitter. "I hate to admit it, but you saved her. Thank you for that. But you should leave. I'll spare your life this time… but the next time we meet, we'll be enemies once more."

With a small frown, Kabuto backed up and nodded. "Very well… Kayuki. Take care of yourself now." He sent her a soft smile before fleeing Konoha, leaving without Kayuki with him, as they'd planned.

It was a sad thing, indeed.

He looked down at the two figures, seeing Kakashi kneel before Kayuki, his back to her, and she clambered on. Her arms wrapped hesitantly around his neck and he stood, walking off with the girl on his back.

Kabuto let out another sad sigh before looking away.

Perhaps one day, he'd get another chance.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long, everyone! School has been kicking my ass. I won't deny it. I've been lazy on updates. But haha... um... I hope this chapter makes up for it, although it probably won't. /bows.**

**I made Orochimaru and Kabuto human. /shrugs. My bad. I love them too much to make them totally evil assholes. I wanted to establish emotional relationships, because no matter what they do, they're still human beings with hearts. They aren't completely gone from reality. Kiku, Shiori, and Mamoru are also three of my original characters, ones I've been tweaking for a while. They're going to become bigger parts as the story continues.**


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